


Kaibutsu-Kun

by CrazyClouds



Category: Tokyo Ghoul, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Multi, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-03-19 12:31:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 29
Words: 105,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18969346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyClouds/pseuds/CrazyClouds
Summary: Can a monster become a Hero?





	1. Chapter 1

_“Get back, you freak!”_  
_“Stay the hell away from me!”_  
_“Die, you damned monster!”_

* * *

  
Sometimes, Midoriya Izuku wished he was quirkless. At least then, he wouldn’t have to deal with literal mobs forming to hunt him down and string him up. Not that they would be able to, but if he fought back, then the police and heroes would get involved, and that was a whole mess he did not feel like dealing with.

  
So, Izuku ran. And he kept running, right out of town, on to the next one. This must have been the… Eighth one since his Quirk manifested? Man, he got around.

  
It was a cute place called Musutafu. It wasn’t exactly small, considering that it was an entire city, but after living in Tokyo for a while, a lot of places seemed to be lacking. Well, better this than a village or something.

  
Izuku was currently wandering the quiet streets, slipping around in dark alleyways to get a scope of the place. He needed to find a place to stay, but he wanted it to be just right. A quiet suburb, with quiet, not-nosy neighbors, Probably not an apartment, since those tended to be far more up close and personal than Izuku was comfortable with. The last time he had tried living in one, the neighbors found him out within a week, and he was out the city after mere hours. Talk about a disaster.

  
Would there even be an available house, though? This seemed like a nice place, so surely a lot of people would be scrambling for an opportunity to live here. So, where did that leave Izuku?  
The boy sighed in resignation, and pulled out his phone. Loathe as he was to do it, he needed to call for some help.

  
“Hey, mom, funny story…”

* * *

 

Today was his first day of classes, though it was after the semester had already started. At the age of thirteen, Izuku was in his final year of junior high, at Orudera Junior High. He fiddled with the collar and cuffs of his black gakuran. He scowled at his reflection in the mirror, not liking the uniform. It was just so… Tight, and constricting. Growling in frustration, Izuku quickly undid all the buttons on the jacket, revealing his white button-down shirt, which then suffered a similar fate as he opened the top. Now, his collarbones were exposed to the air, and he was able to breath easy. He didn’t like things being near his neck.

  
Walking out his new single-story house, he tugged his bag into a more comfortable position, with the strap on his shoulder and the main bulk under his arm. He shoved his free hand into his pocket, curving his back into a slouch and letting his shoulders hang. He looked every bit as exhausted as he felt. It took a lot of energy to repress certain… Urges, and the longer this went on, the worse things would get. Unfortunately, he couldn’t risk letting loose just yet. As the new person in town, if a bunch of strange occurrences happened, he would be a prime suspect.

  
In actuality, very few people would link a series of horrific murders to a zombified teen, but it wasn’t paranoia unless absolutely nobody was watching

* * *

  
“Looks like we have a transfer student. If you would please stand and introduce yourself?” the teacher said, smiling idly at the green-haired boy.

  
Izuku rose slowly, pushing out his chair and causing the legs to loudly grind against the floor tiles. A few students cringed, but nobody paid it any mind.

  
The boy opened his mouth, but the first thing that came out was a jaw-stretching yawn. He half-heartedly raised a hand to cover the sight, but the damage was already done. A few of his peers began to chuckle, while the teacher seemed to vaguely disapprove.

  
“Name’s Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet ya.” With that, Izuku bent down in a bow, but rather than straightening up to complete the gesture, he simply sat right down.

  
The teacher’s mouth was curled into a small frown, but he ignored the poor manners. After all, they were much better than those of the blond boy who was glaring at the transfer.

* * *

 

“Oi, transfer, think you’re tough shit or somethin’!?” Bakugou Katsuki shouted, swaggering up to his new classmate’s desk.

  
Izuku blinked, stopping his drawing, mechanical pencil mid-stroke. “Huh?”

 

“The hell was that show during homeroom, hah!? What, too cool to even be bothered to introduce yourself!?”

  
Izuku blinked again. Why was this guy acting so offended by that? Was he just finding some reason to attack him?

  
“Um, no? I’m just pretty tired. I have issues sleeping, so I tend to stay up for most of the night.”

  
“Oh, boohoo- little bitch can’t sleep without his nightlight!?”

  
Against his will, Izuku yawned, mouth opening wide enough for the hinges of his jaw to click audibly. The green-haired boy flinched at the noise. “Oh, that did not sound good,” he muttered.  Meanwhile, the blond began twitching violently at the show of apparent disrespect.

  
“You fucking-!” Bakugou shouted, bringing his hand down to slam it against Izuku’s desk. His palms were slick with his nitroglycerin sweat, primed and ready to create a localized blast to scare the new student. It worked wonders on the other extras in this school- they were all cowards, scared of a few noisy fireworks!

  
Except, unlike before, it wouldn’t work this time, because Bakugou’s hand would never connect with the desk. Instead, it was caught by Izuku, much to the surprise of Bakugou and all the other students in the class, who had remained to watch the inevitable confrontation.

  
In his shock, Bakugou’s control of his Quirk slipped him, and the explosion he had charged up detonated without his consent.  
“Ah,” Izuku murmured, letting go of Bakugou in favor of examining his gakuran’s sleeve. “It’s burned…”

  
Bakugou was at a loss for words. Never before had anyone his age, or even the occasional older kid who would try and take him on, been able to stop him so easily. In fact, none of them had been able to stop him at all. HIs agemates were far too scared, and the high schoolers had learned their lesson after he beat them down in a five-on-one match.

  
The blond held the wrist which had been grabbed in his other hand, lightly massaging it and watching as it slowly turned red.

  
“Tch!” He turned away, ignoring one of the annoying groupies who was reaching towards him in what seemed like worry. He swatted the hand away, before pushing the kid’s chest. While he stumbled against a desk, and with the new kid occupied with his damaged uniform, Bakugou stalked out of the class to think.

* * *

 

“Since you’re all third years, it’s time for you to think seriously about your futures,” the teacher began one morning. “I’ll pass out handouts for your future plans now, but…” He grabbed the stack of papers on his desk, and with a flourish, tossed them up into the air.

  
“You’re all pretty much planning to go into the hero course, right!?”

  
The classroom erupted into noise, with kids showing of their Quirks. Rock-covered hands, elemental manipulation, flesh that turned into spikes, and… Removable eyeballs? That was kinda gross. Izuku cringed slightly, and shifted in his seat so he didn’t have to see that particular student.

  
“Yes, yes, you all have wonderful Quirks!” the teacher cried, “But using them at school is against the rules.”

  
“Sensei!” Bakugou called, cutting through the noise. “Don’t lump us all in the same group! I’m not gonna be stuck at the bottom with the rest of these rejects!”

  
The room once more exploded into sound, but this time it was with his classmates yelling at the blond for being rude.

  
“You should all shut up like the extras you are!” Bakugou shouted back, seeming to take pleasure in the way his peers got even more riled up.

  
“Ah,” the teacher said, and everybody stopped yelling to give him their attention. The man was looking at one of the pieces of paper now scattered on his desk. “It seems that you want to go to U.A High, right, Bakugou?”

  
“Eh!? That national school!?”

  
“It was in the top 0.2% of high schools this year!”

 

“Isn’t their acceptance rate always really low!?”

  
“Exactly!” Bakugou shouted, putting a stop to the chatter. “That’s why you guys are just a bunch of extras!” He leaned back further in his chair, then pushed himself into the air with just his arms alone, landing on the desk to tower above the rest of the class.

  
“I aced the mock exam! I’m the only one at this school that could possibly get into U.A! I’ll definitely surpass All Might, and become the top hero! My name will be the highest on the list of top earners!” Bakugou cried with passion, steadily getting louder and using explosive movements to match his tone.

  
The teacher, used to his student’s antics, spent a moment shuffling through some other papers, before something caught his eye.

  
“Oh, Midoriya, it seems like you never turned in your choices for which high schools you want to apply to. Do you have that on you?”

  
Izuku tapped his chin thoughtfully, before his shook his head. “I didn’t do it, ‘cause I have no clue what I wanna do in the future.”

  
The teacher frowned slightly. “Well, that’s important, so make sure you figure something out- the school year’s almost over, and if you don’t apply, you won’t be going to high school. If you need any help, you can come talk to me or one of the counselors, alright?”

  
“‘Kay~.”

  
“Anyways, everybody quiet down. It’s time to start lessons.”

* * *

 

Izuku was walking home, passing underneath the same bridge as always, when he heard a metallic wobble or something behind him. Turning in curiosity, he bore witness to a disgusting… Thing pushing its way out of the sewers, causing the manhole to scrape against the concrete. The noise reverberated through the tight space, along with the blob’s laugh.

  
“Oh-ho? What’s this? A lonely little boy walking through an empty tunnel?” the thing asked mockingly, breaking off into laughter. It sounded distinctly male. “You’ll make a perfect meat puppet!” he bellowed, launching his amorphous green body at Izuku.

  
Lips curling downwards in a disgusted sneer at the sight- and smell- of the sewer monster, Izuku leaped backwards, then again when the thing lurched forward a second time. Now that they were out of the dark tunnel, and in the sunlight, Izuku could see exactly what was trying to attack him.

  
The blob looked much the same as in the darkness, but now the sickly green color of his body was revealed. It looked the same as sewer water, which, considering how he just came out from a manhole, was likely accurate. Izuku could now also see the thing’s yellow, bloodshot eyes, hovering inside the translucent jelly-like substance, at what appeared to be the top of thing’s nearly-nonexistent body.

  
“Oh, so you can dodge? You must be pretty strong- I want you even more now!”

  
The slime drew back, preparing for another attempt, when a loud clang resounded behind him. Leaning to peer around the monster, Izuku caught sight of the manhole cover which the blob came from lodged into the underside of the bridge, embedded in the cracked concrete, From the now-empty space emerged a beast of a man. His muscles were larger than Izuku’s head, and he had the type of blond-yellow hair one would expect to see in America. The two segments which stuck up in the air seemed odd, but helped Izuku identify the man.

  
“Have no fear, for I am here!” All Might cried, his booming voice echoing through the tunnel and blasting Izuku’s ear drums.

  
The slime monster squealed in terror, eyes somehow going wide even though there were no lids to speak of. He began oozing rapidly towards Izuku, though his focus seemed more on escaping than taking Izuku hostage. Still, the young man didn’t want to take any chances, and leapt up high. He did a spinning flip, and alighted on top of a lamp post, crouching down to observe.

  
“Detroit, SMASH!” All Might shouted, pulling his fist back and launching it forward at speeds so great, Izuku hardly saw it move. His eyes widened when he buffeted by a torrential gale, which threatened to knock him off his perch, which was all shaking in the gust. He raised one hand to protect his eyes from being snatched away by the wind, using the other to grab onto the light fixture with an iron grip, accidentally bending the steel.

  
When the miniature tornado finally died down, Izuku lowered his arm, to the sight of the slime monster torn to piece and scattered across the street, seemingly unconscious. All MIght burst into action, fast enough that Izuku, with his impressive kinetic vision, only saw a blond blur, before the man finally stopped moving. Izuku finally noticed the bag the hero carried, which held two large soda bottles that were now full of green goop.

  
Putting his hands on his hip, the muscular beast began laughing. “Ha ha ha! Nice job holding out, young man! But do not worry, for it is safe now!”

  
Izuku hopped down from his observation point, dusting off his clothes when he landed.

  
“You’re really fast,” Izuku said, digging through his bag.

  
“Ah ha, you’re too kind, young man. Would you like an autograph?”

  
“Yup, lemme just find a- ah, there it is.” Izuku pulled out his notebook and a pen, handing both over to the hero. He might not be the biggest fan of All Might, but meeting the Number One Hero in Japan? He needed to have something to remind him that it wasn’t just a fever dream.

  
“By the way, All Might, I have a question.”

  
“I’m sorry, young man,” All Might apologized, handing the signed notebook back to Izuku, “But I am very busy, and unfortunately do not have time to talk. If you would like, you can always send an email to the address listed-”

  
“Can a monster become a hero?”

  
All Might froze, not expecting such severity. His mind began to race, wondering, just who was this monster? He had to be careful here- a wrong answer may result in the rise of a new villain, which could lead to many people getting hurt. He had heard of things like this happening all the time, where the absent-minded negligence of a hero drove someone over the edge, and did his best to avoid such a situation. Both because innocents may get involved, and because it hurt him, to know that he was the cause of a bright life turning down a dark road. He was a hero who wanted to help people, and sometimes that included situations where his fists were not the answer.

  
After a few moments of silence, All Might decided upon an answer.

  
“Well, if that supposed monster wants to become a hero… Then they aren’t really a monster, are they?”

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Oi, Izuku, you ever decide what you’re gonna do for high school?” Katsuki asked one day when they were walking home. At some point, the blond’s attempts to show up the green-haired boy simply became an act of competitiveness rather than intimidation. Izuku thought it was when they did their recent physical assessment, and Izuku showed some of his strength.

Bakugou Katsuki was a simple person- he respected strength, despised weakness, and absolutely hated people who tried to leech off true power to show as their own. It’s why he didn’t have any friends at school; he couldn’t stand any of those parasites, who just wanted to make themselves seem cool by hanging out with the best kid in the school.

Izuku, however, was different. He didn’t particularly care for Katsuki’s strength, which the explosive boy finally understood was because he had plenty of his, which went a long way in earning respect. The transfer also wasn’t willing to take things lying down, another point in his favor- Katsuki hated cowards. Finally, was the green-haired boys control. He had strength, everyone knew, but he didn’t turn into a tyrant like Katsuki. He went through the day with a mild, pleasant disposition, even when someone tried to taunt him. Katsuki admired how sure Izuku was of himself, that he never went out of his way to try and prove himself better. The blond sort of wished he could be like that, but at the same time, it was also fun to terrorize the weaklings, so…

“Hmm… Yeah. I think I’m gonna go to U.A,” Izuku replied idly.

Katsuki froze midstep. “What the _fuck!?_ ”

Izuku turned back, an eyebrow raised in surprise at the unexpected outburst. “What’s up?”

“When the fuck did you decide that!?”

“A few weeks ago, I think it was.”

“Wh- Why!?”

“Oh, because I met All Might, and he seemed pretty cool, so I thought, why not?”

“What the fuck.”

“RIght, I never told you about that. I got an autograph, wanna see?”

Without waiting for affirmation, Izuku pulled out the signed notebook, opening to the inside cover and pushing it towards Katsuki. The boy looked at it for a few seconds, reading the words, and matching the script to a picture of one he had seen on social media recently. They looked pretty similar to him.

“What the _fuck_.”

Izuku looked at him oddly, taking his notebook back in case Katsuki’s control slipped and he charred it. “DId you break or something?”

“What. The. _Fuck._ ”

Izuku sighed, dragging a hand down his face, before using that same hand to slap Katsuki on the back of his head. The blond immediately snapped out of his daze, fingers curled and eyes blank with rage.

“DON’T FUCKING HIT ME! I’LL FUCKING MURDER YOU, YA SHITSTAIN!”

“Why do you seem so surprised by me wanting to go to U.A?” Izuku asked, ignoring the death threat. Katsuki’s face shifted back to neutral in an instant, a feat which surprised the green-haired boy every time he saw it.

“Because I was _planning_ on being the only person from Orudera to go to U.A. A lot of Pro Heroes have stories from when they were in school, and I wanted mine to be that I rose from a shitty, third-rate school to become the Number One Hero using nothing but my own skill. Now _you_ come along, and fuck everything up.”

Katsuki sounded disappointed, so Izuku took the chance to rib him for showing an emotion other than anger.

“Aw, is widdle baby Kacchan pouting? Ooh, how _cute_ ,” he cooed, leaping back with a laugh when Katsuki swung at him, an explosion in his palm.

“YOU PIECE OF SHIT! COME HERE, I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!”

* * *

 

“Katsuki, have you been training for the entrance exam?” Izuku asked one day, when the two were sitting on Katsuki’s couch, playing video games.

“Hah? What kinda dumbass question is that? Of course I have.”

“Mind showin’ me? I’m getting bored of just sitting here.”

“Oh, you wanna fight?” Katsuki asked, grinning demonically. “All ya had to do was ask!” They stood up after saving and turning off the console- Katsuki was mindful of electricity bills, despite how delinquent-like he seemed- before walking to go out back.

“Oi, hag!” Katsuki yelled, his voice carrying upstairs, “We’re goin’ to the backyard, so don’t piss yourself if you hear any noise!”

“You fucking brat!” Mitsuki shouted back, winding up to go on a rant about how much of a little shit he was. Katsuki effectively silenced that by slamming the back door.

“I hope that’s not locked- I don’t think Mitsuki-san would be very willing to let us back in if it is.”

“Oh, she’ll do it, if she doesn’t wanna buy a new door again,” Katsuki muttered, grinding his teeth at the thought.

Izuku smiled weakly. He didn’t like how Katsuki said _again_. Whatever.

“Anyways, so how’re we gonna do this?” Katsuki asked.

“Can you run through some moves? I’m curious about how you use your Quirk, and it’s nice to get warmed up. I’ll do some stretches in the meantime.”

Katsuki smirked, bringing his hands up to pop a few small blasts. “Prepare to be amazed, dipfuck.”

* * *

 

Izuku was actually quite impressed by his friend’s aerial maneuvers- he doubted anybody else in Katsuki’s position, with the Explosion Quirk, would have thought of such a thing. It greatly increased his mobility, which was always an advantage, and the force required to launch himself up in the air was enough that it could be counted as a workout on its own. Of course, that meant Katsuki couldn’t yet stay up in the air for too long, especially while firing off offensive blasts which would unbalance him, but it was a great start.

Izuku was also slightly taken aback by the sheer speed and ferocity with which Katsuki used his Quirk. His arms could move pretty quick, meaning the blond was able to wind up and release a powerful explosion multiple times in the time it took someone of average agility to strike once.

When Izuku finished his stretches, he clapped his hands together to get Katsuki’s attention.

“That was pretty nice. Now, how do you do in combat?”

“Bitch, I’m a _beast_! Now get your ass over here so I can show you!” Katsuki pounded a fist into an open palm, detonating an explosion when they connected, releasing a puff of black smoke.

Izuku smiled, leaping to his feet from where he was sitting. He did a quick swivel to pop his spine, which Katsuki heard and grimaced at, before shoving his hands in his pockets and standing still.

“Oi! The fuck are ya doin’!? I _said_ come at me!” Katsuki shouted, firecracker popping on his fingertips.

“Hmm… How about no? I don’t really feel like moving.”

“You little-! You’re gonna regret that!”

* * *

 

A half-hour later, Izuku had no regrets.

“STOP! FUCKING! _DODGING!_ ”

Katsuki was exhausted. He was panting heavily, dripping in actual sweat rather than nitroglycerin. Only his hands secreted that stuff.

Izuku, on the other hand, looked fresh as daisies, with his hands still in his pockets. The boy was smiling lazily, and the only sign that he had been performing a physical activity was his ruffled shirt.

“Hey, it’s not _my_ fault you can’t hit me. What happened to the _beast_?”

“Bitch. I will… Fucking… Murder you!” Katsuki growled between pants. He was still in a fighting stance, despite his apparent fatigue. What he lacked in manners, he more than made up for in grit and determination.

“Fucking _fight me_ , goddammit!” Katsuki shouted, when Izuku jumped over yet another explosion.

“Do you really think that’ll end well with the state you’re in right now?”

“I’ll still put you in the fucking ground!”

Izuku sighed. “Well, I think we found something that the future-top-hero isn’t good at; realizing when he’s outmatched. You _do_ know that’ll get you killed in the real world, right?”

“Heroes don’t run, asswipe!”

“No, but heroes understand when their time would be better spent retreating to either get help or find an advantage. They can’t save anyone if they’re dead, right?”

“Fine, then _I_ don’t run!”

Izuku sighed once more, shaking his head. “You really are hardheaded, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll take that damned pride and shatter it in front of your eyes- get ready, Katsuki, because I’m not going to hold back this time.”

“I was fucking _born_ ready!”

* * *

 

“I was not ready,” Katsuki whispered. It was a few hours later, and he just woke up on the couch. It was hard to remember exactly what led to this, the fog of exhaustion and fatigue barely parting enough for him to recall Izuku saying something about his stubbornness.

Forcing himself into a sitting position, the blond groaned, clutching at his gut. He felt like it’d been slammed by a battering ram held by Death Arms.

“Oh, you’re finally awake?” his mother asked from the other sofa.

Katsuki glared at her, but that was more because his natural expression included furrowed eyebrows. Mitsuki saw the lack of fire in his eyes, and the way his jaw was held loosely, and decided she didn’t need to prepare for yet another showdown.

“What happened?”

Mitsuki smirked. It wasn’t everyday she got to make fun of her son for the consequences of his overconfidence. It was one of the things she regretted; he’d gotten a big head at a young age, but then developed the skill and power to back it up, so nothing she’d say ever got through to him. With everything going his way, Katsuki had never seen a reason to change.

“From what Izu-kun told me, you two had a friendly little spar, but he had to knock you the fuck out since you didn’t know when to quit. Ah, but he was so concerned, worried that he hurt you and fretting over you. That boy is adorable.” Mitsuki’s eyes suddenly twitched, and went blank with apocalyptic rage. “Why can’t you be more like him, huh, you friggin’ brat!? He’s so polite and quiet, but _you_ have to go out your way to make as much fucking noise as possible!”

“Shut up, hag,” Katsuki muttered, no bite in his voice. Mitsuki straightened up, concerned.

“Oi, you alright, kid?”

“Yeah. I’m goin’ to bed. Friggin’ tired…” he said quietly, rising to his feet with visible effort and staggering off.

Mitsuki watched him go, before settling back into a comfortable position and turning to the TV. Her lips were curved into a small smile.

“Maybe that kid’s finally learning.”

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

“Katsuki, you really can’t take a punch.”

“Hah!? What was that, you shitty nerd!?”

“Don’t you remember? You went down with only one kick to the gut. Either you were more tired than I thought, or you just can’t take a hit.”

Katsuki rubbed at his stomach, which had turned black and blue over the course of the night. He made to retort, but realized his friend was right. So, for maybe the tenth time in his life, Katsuki stayed quiet.

“By the way, I’m not a nerd just because my grades are better than yours.”

* * *

 

“Honey, don’t you think that Katsuki’s been a little… Quiet, recently?” Bakugou Masaru asked his wife one night. The two were preparing for bed, shuffling around each other in the bathroom.

“Hmm? Didn’t you know? He’s actually taking this Hero thing seriously for once.”

“For once? Hasn’t he been taking it seriously ever since his Quirk manifested?”

“ _ No _ , he’s been acting like a shitty brat since his Quirk manifested. Now, though, he’s actually shutting up and focusing on his training and grades.”

“Really, now? What brought that about?”

“It’s all thanks to his new friend.”

“Midoriya-kun?”

“Yup. Izu-kun handed Katsuki’s ass to him in a fight,  _ and _ has better grades than him,  _ and _ he’s not a total ass to anything that breathes. Honestly, why can’t Izu-kun be our kid?”

Masaru sighed, following Mitsuki back into the room. “Don’t say things like that, honey.”

“Why? Gonna do somethin’ about it?”

“You bet your ass I am- come here!”

Mitsuki squealed in delight as Masaru’s aggressive side came out, and he threw her on the bed.

* * *

 

“Alright, what’ve you learned today?”

“That you’re… A piece of  _ shit _ ,” Katsuki wheezed, curled up on the ground and trying to make his lungs un-constrict. A certain green-haired boy had jammed a palm against his ribcage, and damn near caused it to collapse inwards.

“Wrong answer!” Izuku replied cheerfully, then slammed an axe kick on his downed friend.

“Urgh- FUCK!  _ Alright _ ! Don’t try to get into the air when the opponent is so close to me!”

“Ding ding ding! Corr-ect! Your prize is~... An ice pack!” Izuku quickly ran inside, grabbed the pack he had prepared earlier, then returned and tossed it on the blond. With an animalistic growl, Katuki took it, and gingerly pressed the cold plastic against his sore chest. He inhaled in shock at the sudden cold, but eventually let out a stuttering breath as relief began to slowly creep in.

“Wait until summer… It’ll be hot enough that my explosions are gonna blow you away!” Katsuki growled, rolling over to glare at his friend.

“Wait until winter!” Izuku shot back, still smiling. “Maybe then you’ll finally learn to not rely on your Quirk so much!”

“Like  _ you’re _ one to talk…” Katsuki grumbled. His eyes widened at the same time that Izuku’s ever-present smile did.

“What was that,  _ Kacchan? _ ” the boy asked, cracking his knuckles ominously.

Katsuki wisely said nothing.

If Izuku was a bit more vicious than normal in their spar the next day, well… He couldn’t really be blamed, right?

* * *

 

“Whatcha doin’, Katsuki?”

“Tryin’ to think of ideas for my hero costume. U.A’s website said that students accepted into the Hero Course needed costumes, and I wanna get this shit outta the way now.”

“My, aren’t  _ you _ confident?”

“You and I  _ both  _ know I’m gonna ace that practical exam. Probably get highest score, too,” Katsuki said arrogantly. Izuku raised an eyebrow, but the blond refused to notice it.

“Alright, looks like I’ll just have to leave you in the dust,” Izuku said decisively, causing Katsuki to glare at him.

“Don’t you fucking  _ dare _ . If you embarrass me, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Wow, you make it sound like you actually can. Remind me, what’s the score for our fights?”

It was something like twenty-zero, but Katsuki would just blatantly ignore that fact. Instead, he huffed and rubbed his nose, false superiority oozing from him.

“I was just goin’ easy on ya, so you wouldn’t cry.”

Moments later, Katsuki was struck with the feeling that that was the worst possible thing to say in this situation. Slowly, mechanically, he turned his head to Izuku, who was staring at the ground. However, the blond could just barely make out the disturbingly-wide smile on his friend’s face.

“Oh? So you haven’t been giving it your all? I guess I’ll just have to fix that, won’t I?”

Katsuki got a shiver down his spine. He opened his mouth to protest, to say that he had only been joking, but the bell signalling the end of lunch rang, and Izuku returned to his seat on the other side of the room.

“Oi, Izuku!” he called, trying to get the green-haired boy’s attention. However, the other boy seemed to have conveniently gone deaf, and Katsuki went ignored. He was left to sweat out the remaining few hours of classes, dreading their afternoon training session.

* * *

 

The day of the U.A entrance exam was finally here. Katsuki and Izuku took the bus to the high school, deciding to leave a bit earlier than necessary just so they wouldn’t have to worry about not finding the testing area in time. They had their temporary U.A I.Ds, their junior high I.Ds, two pencils each, and a calculator for the mathematics portion of the written exam. Katsuki was wearing his Orudera gakuran after his mother insisted, but Izuku…

“Why the  _ fuck  _ are you dressed like that?”

Izuku looked like a bum, clad in nothing but baggy grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He wore his signature bright red sneakers, which were unfortunately not enough to drag attention away from the pronounced bags under his eyes, tangled hair, and his overall haggard appearance.

“What do you mean?” Izuku asked, stifling a yawn.

“You look fucking homeless, dipshit.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? The website never specified that we were supposed to wear anything special.”

“Yeah, because it’s fucking common sense to look proper. Plus, I don’t wanna be seen with someone who looks that suspicious.”

Izuku quirked an eyebrow at him. “Since when have  _ you _ cared what a bunch of extras thought?”

“Since I might not be allowed in for being associated with a creep, you fucking clown!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

* * *

 

“EVERYBODY SAY  _ HEY~! _ ”

The auditorium was silent as Present Mic turned his ear, as if he was expecting to hear an ear-shattering roar. He seemed unperturbed.

“What a refined response…” the Pro Hero mused, voice echoing through the massive room due to his microphone and naturally loud voice.  “Then, I’ll just quickly present the rundown on the practical exam!  _ Are you ready!?  _ YEAH!”

Silence greeted him once more. A cricket chirped, and Present Mic frowned.

“Man, you kids are really uptight, ain’t ya? Well, whatever, I guess. As you’ve probably read on the application requirements, you lot will be beginning the practical exams after my little speech; ten-minute mock urban battles! I’ll be telling you exactly what’s gonna be happening, so I suggest you all pay attention!”

Present Mic pressed a button on the podium in front of him, and the screen behind him shifted from U.A’s logo to a digital view of robotic silhouettes.

“Once you’ve all made your way to the battle centers specified on your information cards, you’ll be let loose to earn as many points as you can! The only way to earn points is take down any one of three types of robots, which will each have point values of one, two, and three, respectively. Be careful, though- the more points a robot’s worth, the tougher it’ll be to take down! And, of course, since this is a  _ Hero _ school, attacking other participants or other unheroic actions will be grounds for  _ immediate _ disqualification, and a black mark on your permanent record!”

The potential students took a moment to digest the consequences, and made the decision to pay good attention to the people surrounding them during the exam.

“Excuse me!” an examinee called, shooting up from their seat and standing ramrod straight, short blue hair ruffling slightly in the aftermath of the quick movement. “In this pamphlet,  _ four _ types of robots are depicted! If this is a mistake, then U.A, as the premiere Hero school in the world, should be ashamed! In addition!” the boy shouted, turning around to point at Izuku, whose head was slumped onto the table in front of him.

“You there, with the curly hair!” Blue-hair yelled. When there was no response, he began chopping his hand like a robot. “Are you sleeping!? That sort of behavior is completely inappropriate in such an environment! Excuse me, sir sitting next to him, with the blond hair!”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, but turned his head in a way that made it obvious that the intense teen had his attention.

“Would you please wake that boy up, and tell him that this is no place to take a nap!?”

Katsuki quirked an eyebrow, but then smirked evilly. He may not particularly want to, especially since this nerd had told him to do it, but it would be good revenge for all the pain Izuku had caused him in the name of training.

Raising a hand high up in the air, Katsuki slammed it down, palm-first, onto Izuku’s exposed neck, detonating a medium-sized explosion at the moment of impact.

Screams echoed around the auditorium, most notable in the immediate vicinity of the cloud of black smoke produced by the blast.

“OI!” Present Mic shouted, adding more noise to the general chaos. Katsuki cackled, while the dust finally cleared and Izuku began to stir. Slowly, the green-haired boy lifted his head, a jaw-cracking yawn escaping him. He blinked blearily, rubbing at his sleep-encrusted eyes, then yawned again.

“Hey, kid!” Present Mic yelled, “With the green hair! You alright!?”

Izuku squinted at him, before the identity of the figure across the room clicked.

“Um, yeah? Why, did something happen?”

“Yeah! That kid next to you just blasted you in the head! Didn’t you feel that!?”

Izuku’s eyes narrowed in confusion, before he turned to his friend. “The hell did you do?”

“That friggin’ nerd over there was yelling about you being asleep, so I woke you up.”

Izuku sighed. That answer was just so Katsuki, he couldn’t even be surprised. He waved off Present Mic’s concern, before resting his head back on the desk.

Dumbfounded, the normally loud Pro was silent for a second, before turning on Katsuki. “Oi, blondie, that was too far! You’re lucky your friend didn’t get hurt, or I’d have tossed out of this room in an instant! Don’t try another stunt like that!”

Katsuki merely nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back with a smug smile on his face. The intense blue-haired boy from earlier was completely speechless at the debacle, arm chopping and lips flapping, but not making a single audible noise.

Present Mic sighed. “Anyways, great question, Examinee 7111! No, that is not a typo; there  _ are _ four types of opponent, but only  _ three _ of them are worth points! That last one is… Well think of it like in Mario- wait, no, you kids are probably too young to really know about that game… Basically, that is the Zero-Pointer! It has no point value, but is  _ insanely _ difficult to beat! It rampages in tight spaces, which is the entirety of the battle center! My advice to you? Think of it as an unbeatable obstacle, and avoid it at all costs!”

The teen who had posed the question merely bowed and sat back down, brain still fried from the earlier scene he had borne witness to.

“Now, that’s the end of the practical exam brief, but I’m not quite done yet! Here at U.A, we have a motto! The Hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said; A  _ true  _ hero is someone who overcomes life’s misfortunes. Go beyond! PLUS!  _ ULTRA! _ ”

_ That _ evoked a response from the crowd, who had been hanging onto the Pro Hero’s every word. At the deliverance of the school’s well known slogan, they went wild, cheering and clapping and whistling. The incredible noise startled Izuku awake, and he twisted wildly to find out what was going on. He looked at Katsuki in confusion, but the blond just shrugged.

* * *

 

“Excuse me! You, with the curly hair!”

Izuku blinked, wondering why this guy was approaching him.

“I am Iida Tenya! I must ask, are you injured?”

“Injured? What’re ya talkin’ about?”

Iida blinked. “You… You don’t know? The blond boy sitting next to you in the auditorium, he woke you up by a slamming an  _ explosion _ into your  _ head _ ! How could you  _ not _ know!?”

“So that’s why Present Mic yelled at him…” Izuku muttered off-handedly, causing Iida to frown. Was this boy so severely concussed that he had forgotten about the incident entirely?  
“Anyways, that’s just Katsuki. He does stuff like that all the time.”

“He  _ blows you up _ all the time!?” Iida shouted, taking a step back in shock.

“Yeah. Although usually, it’s only when we’re training.”

“Well, training is one thing, but what he did back there was taking it too far!”

“ _ START! _ ”

Iida turned to look at the announcer’s tower in shock. When he glanced back in front of him, the curly-haired boy had vanished.

* * *

 

Izuku was having a  _ blast _ ! It had been so long since he could fight without constantly and consciously limiting every movement he made, and it was  _ exhilarating _ .

Katsuki was by no means a slouch, and was incredibly talented, especially for his age. Amongst all the hundreds of students vying for top spots in the Entrance Exam, likely only a dozen or less could match him in terms of combat potential. However, no matter how good the blond was, he would probably never be able to match up to Izuku. Said boy was currently sprinting around nonstop, tearing apart robots with his bare hands.

A caved in chassis here, a few torn-out vital circuits here, and just for good measure, a one-pointer was thrown into a mass of three-pointers, causing the entire group to go up in a blast so large it would leave Katsuki jealous.

A manic grin stretched across Izuku’s face as he ran at his next target, leaping into a dropkick which carried him straight through the one-pointer’s light armor. Behind it was a two-pointer, which attempted to stab at the boy in midair with a robotic scorpion tail. Izuku caught the edges of stinger, ignoring the fact that they were likely just as sharp as the gleaming point. They couldn’t cut him, anyways.

He allowed the robot to force him to the ground, before making use of his new position to get the leverage necessary to twist around, ripping the tail clean from the robot. Tossing it behind him, he surged forward, burying a fist elbow-deep into the front of the two-pointers optic center, deactivating it instantly. Wrenching his arm free, Izuku immediately leapt into the air.

A one-pointer rolled over the spot he had been an instant before, its single massive wheel crushing the metal parts littering the ground. The robot tilted its head up at him, followed by the arms, which were equipped with two machine guns each. They fired rubber bullets, so Izuku just crossed his arms over his face, and took the hits until he landed. As soon as his toes made contact with the asphalt- or concrete, he wasn’t exactly paying attention to that- Izuku was in motion, a strong leg sending him flying at the latest enemy. Copying his last action, Izuku slammed an arm into the optics center of the one-pointer, this time going shoulder-deep before stopping. Placing his feet against the green metal, he ripped his arm out of the sparking mess of electronics, and pushed off it in time to avoid the searing heat of the inevitable explosion.

Still in the air, since he had used a considerable amount of force to launch himself away from the blast zone, Izuku turned to observe the area. He saw all types of Quirks on display; simple strength enhancements, flashy lasers, a few people with wings, and one boy looked like he was just hammering at the robots with his bare hands. Upon closer observation, he saw that the dark-haired boy had very rough skin on his arms, with some sharp point that allowed him to carve up the metal as he was. A Hardening Quirk that could also create sharp edges? Talk about useful; impenetrable defense, and versatile offense which could alternate between sharp and blunt depending on the situation. The only issue Izuku could see with it was long range attacks, but Support Items could probably help with that.

His impromptu flight nearing its end, Izuku flipped so that he landed on the road feet first, skidding along the asphalt before his momentum was halted by friction. He grimaced; he’d probably need new shoes after that stunt. Maybe he’d ask for something more durable with his Hero Costume? There were some materials which wouldn’t wear down under intense friction, usually utilized by Heroes with speed quirks, but applicable to a variety of situations.

Speaking of which, he needed to get back into the fight to ensure he was  _ allowed _ a Hero Costume! Even if he’d probably already passed, it never hurt to go beyond. Plus Ultra and all that, right?

* * *

 

That… Was a  _ big _ bitch.

“TWO MINUTES LEFT, LISTENERS!” Present Mic shouted, using the speakers surrounding his neck to be heard over the chaos.

Standing at well over ten stories tall, a massive green machine punched the center of the asphalt street, creating a shockwave that blasted out every window within five blocks, and shook the rest of the battle center like an earthquake.

“What the  _ fuck _ …” Izuku whispered, taking a few steps back. He raised his arms in front of his eyes to block out the dust which roared down the streets like a tsunami. Note to self; put goggles into his Hero Costume. Getting dust in his eyes hurt like a motherfucker, and would probably be fatal in an actual fight. Obviously, they’d have to be fairly sturdy. Glass, no matter how tough, would completely shatter if it was broken, cutting up his eyes. Plastic, however, had a chance to simply deform instead of exploding into thousands of sharp shards. Didn’t someone manage to make self-healing plastic? Was that result of a Quirk, research, or perhaps a mix of both? He’d have to look into it later, like when there wasn’t a friggin’  _ titan  _ just a hundred or so meters ahead of him. With how large the treads on that thing were, it ate up distance like a fat man at a hot dog eating contest.

Speaking of treads… It looked like someone was about to get rolled over by them!

It was a girl with a round face, pink cheeks, and shoulder-length brown hair. There was some rubble on top of her foot, just far enough away that she couldn’t reach it with her hands. Since she was lying on her stomach, she couldn’t sit up to get to it, either- not unless she wanted to snap her spine like a twig.

From what Izuku had seen of her around the fake city, he had managed to piece together than by touching things with her hands, she was able to make them float. Perhaps some form of telekinesis which, for some odd reason, was activated by physical contact? Or maybe she was able to manipulate magnetic polarity, to make two things both become positively charged, and thus repel each other. That would mean she’d have to use her Quirk on both the ground and the robots- unless she just reversed the polarity of the robots. He was pretty sure the ground had a natural negative charge, but that wouldn’t explain how the robots floated high enough that a fall would destroy them. Wasn’t gravity supposed to be stronger than the electromagnetic force…?

Not the time! That girl was in a bind, because whatever her Quirk was, she couldn’t use it at the moment. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like anybody had realized the same things Izuku had, likely because they didn’t think they were in a secure enough position to worry about other competitors. Meaning, Izuku was the only one aware that a poor girl was about to get crushed. So, he did the logical thing; he ran at the massive Zero-Pointer.

Well, not  _ at _ the Zero-Pointer. Just in the general direction. That would be suicide. Only someone like All Might would be able to take that thing on without unnecessary risk. Speaking of which, weren’t there rumors going around that All Might was going to be a teacher at U.A? A thought for later.

In only a handful of seconds, Izuku had reached the trapped girl. He used his incredible momentum to jam a kick into the largest piece of rubble on her, launching it down the street and freeing her in one smooth motion. He spun on a dime, leaning down to scoop the girl up in what was commonly known as a princess carry, then leaped as hard as he could away from the Zero-Pointer. He hit the ground running, and ended up on what seemed like the other side of the city by the time he stopped.

Izuku took a deep breath, and set the girl down on a bench that had somehow survived, even though the surrounding area looked like a warzone.

“Hey, you alright?” he asked, glancing around to make sure no robots would try to ambush them.

“Uh, y-yeah! Thanks for the save! I was seriously in a pinch, heh…” she replied, rubbing at the back of her head nervously.

“No problem. I couldn’t just leave you there, and it didn’t look like anyone else was coming, so…” Izuku trailed, unsure what else to say. Instead of stumbling around for more words, he just collapsed on the bench next to the girl. “Shit, I’m kinda tired. I haven’t gone all out like that in a while.”

“You were incredible out there!” the girl said in awe, “I saw you a few times, and you were moving so  _ fast _ ! You were all BAM! POW! BOOM! And then you’d run off to find even  _ more _ robots. How many points do you think you got?” She was practically bouncing at this point, and he chuckled.

“Honestly, I’ve got no clue. I was having way too much fun.”

The girl looked at him, and her eyes actually started sparkling. At least, he thought they did. It looked that way to him.

“Wow, you really  _ are _ strong! According to all the animes, only a strong person could have fun in a fight!”

Izuku fixed her with a disbelieving gaze, and she began to tap her fingertips together.

“Well, I guess just because it’s an anime doesn’t make it correct…” she muttered after a while of silence, eyes occasionally flickering back to Izuku. The boy just nodded numbly. 

“TIME IS  _ UP _ ! ALL PARTICIPANTS, RETURN TO THE GATES IF YOU ARE ABLE TO! OTHERWISE, STAY WHERE YOU ARE, AND RECOVERY GIRL WILL COME TO PATCH YOU UP IN NO TIME! GOOD JOB, EVERYONE!”

“Well, I guess we should get going,” Izuku said, pushing himself to his feet, thankful for the change in subject.

“Ah, about that…” the girl muttered, shifting on the bench.

“Hm? You say something?”

“Um… I can’t really walk right now. I think I twisted my ankle back when I got trapped.” She sounded embarrassed, for some odd reason, and refused to look at him. Why was she acting so skittish? It’s not like it was  _ her _ fault she was injured- she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Izuku nodded, then picked the girl up once more in a princess carry. She squeaked, face becoming a deep red, but she didn’t say anything, so Izuku took it as the go ahead to continue.

“Oh gosh!” she cried suddenly, nearly making Izuku drop her. “I’m so rude- I never introduced myself! I- I’m Uraraka Ochako! Nice to meet ya!”

Izuku took a breath to steady himself, glad that it wasn’t a real issue.

“I’m Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you, too, Uraraka-san.”

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

U.A looked the same as it did during the Entrance Exams, but far less crowded, even if more people were milling about. Probably because they weren’t all crowded together, but instead spread out across the grounds.

It had been two weeks since, and Izuku had gotten a letter home containing his certificate of acceptance, along with all the necessary information, such as his schedule and official student I.D. There was also a weird disc thing, but Izuku hadn’t paid it much attention, just tossing it on the coffee table to rot.

“1A, 1A…” he muttered, tapping a finger to his chin as he wandered through the pristine halls of the prestigious academy. He had no clue where he was, since the map of the school he’d received with his acceptance notification lay on his desk at home, accidentally forgotten. At this rate, he’d have to ask one of the older looking students-

Izuku hit the brakes, barely stopping before he ran into a wall of muscle. Craning his neck up- and up, _ man this guy was tall _ \- he found himself making eye contact with All Might himself.

“Kaibutsu-kun?” All Might exclaimed in shock, then rapidly shook his head, covering his mouth in apparent shock. “Er- please forgive me, young man! I did not mean to let that slip out, but seeing you brought back the memories of our conversation, and-!”  
Izuku laughed, cutting off the Number One Hero and waving his hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not offended. Little Monster, huh?”

All Might scratched at the back of his head in embarrassment. “My humble apologies, young man! It’s just, I remember what you asked me, and I had assumed, by the tone of your voice, that were referring to yourself… And, well, compared to me, many people are quite little…”

Izuku chuckled once more. “It’s fine. I kinda like it, to be honest; a nickname given to me by the Number One Hero? I’m  _ definitely  _ gonna be using that to introduce myself in the future!”

All Might joined Izuku in the humour. “Well, it’s great to see you decided to apply to U.A, and ever more wonderful to see that you have passed the Entrance Exam! Which course have you been accepted into?”

“Heroics Course, Class 1A. Speaking of which, do you know where that is? I’m kinda lost, heh.”

“Why, of course! Follow me, young man- by the way, I never got your name! Please excuse my lack of manners!”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t exactly jumping to introduce myself. Anyways, you can just call me Kaibutsu-kun!”

All Might’s ever-present smile seemed to dip for a moment in confusion, before it leapt back into place, seemingly a thousand times brighter. “Well, if you insist, Kaibutsu-kun!”

* * *

 

“Damn, that’s a big door…” Izuku muttered in awe. It wasn’t an exaggeration, either; the entrance to the classroom was large enough to fit three All Might’s standing on each other’s shoulders, and he wasn’t exactly  _ short _ . Perhaps it was for people with Gigantification Quirks, like that newly-debuted heroine, Mount Lady, except without the ability to shrink? Well, regardless, it worked much the same way as any other door, and he slid the piece of wood aside,

The sight he walked in on immediately made Izuku wish he could just closed the door and go home. Honestly, it was  _ far _ too early to deal with Katsuki yelling at that Iida guy from the practical. Well, at least it answered his question of which class Katsuki was in.

“Please remove your feet from on top of that desk at once! That is an insult to the makers, who likely spent hours assembling this fine piece of furniture, the great Heroes who once sat in this very classroom, and our future underclassmen, who will sit there to begin on their path to becoming the next generation of Heroes!”

That dude was intense.

“Hah!? You say something, you fuckin’  _ nerd _ !? What school did you go to!?” Katsuki drawled, shoving his hands deeper in his pockets, a sign of agitation.

Iida seemed to straighten up in pride. “I attended Somei High! My name is Iida Tenya!”

“ _ Somei!? _ ” Katsuki sneered, “So you’re a damned  _ elite _ !? I’ll have fun crushing you!”

“C- _ Crushing _ !?” Iida yelped, recoiling in shock. “How villainous… Are you truly aiming to be a hero!?”

With a quiet sigh, Izuku stepped into the classroom, not bothering to close the door behind him. He took slow, measured steps to the loud teens, drawing a few eyes. Taking in his opened uniform jacket, ruffled white shirt, and lack of tie, the majority of them seemed to write him off as inconsequential, and returned to watching the conflict playing out. Fine by him.

When he saddled up to the arguing two, he took a moment to watch them. They were so absorbed in their volley of insults- well, insults from Katsuki’s side- that they didn’t even notice him, despite his close proximity. Instead, they just raised the volume of their dispute.

Izuku shook his head, then kicked Katsuki in the side, sending the blond tumbling out of his chair and onto the tiled ground. Several people choked in the background, and Iida looked like he was about to have a stroke.

“WHO THE  _ FUCK _ -!?” Katsuki shouted, leaping to his feet, only to stop when he caught sight of the green hair.

“Hey, Katsuki!” Izuku cried, joy filling his voice. Katsuki, having known the boy for nearly a year now, was wary.

“W-what, you shitty nerd!?”

“If you make too much noise during class, I’ll definitely kill you!” Izuku cheered, a bright smile on his face. He moved and sat down in the seat behind Katsuki’s, then put his head down on the desk.

The room was silent, everyone waiting to see how Katsuki, the obvious alpha-male, would react. Their surprise was palpable when he shivered the barest amount, then clicked his teeth together and sat back in his chair, obviously intent on ignoring Iida.

“M-Midoriya-kun, that was hardly appropriate!” Iida shouted, chopped his arms with vigor.

No response.

“Are you sleeping!?”

“Quiet down.”

The chatter in the room slowly vanished as the students heard what was, presumably, an adult’s voice. It was deeper and gravely, if a bit ( _ a lot _ ) lazy.

A yellow…  _ Thing _ , hopped into the room, coming to a stop behind the teacher’s podium. It turned, revealing a man’s face, with bloodshot eyes and a scraggly beard. A zipper was pulled down slightly, and a pouch poked out, which the man then inhaled from.

“It took you eight seconds to be silent. Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough.”

He pulled down the rest of the zipper, then stepped out, revealing his shaggy hair, white scarf, and black clothes.

“I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Nice to meet you. Now, it’s a bit sudden, but please follow me to the changing rooms. You’ll find lockers labeled with your names, and inside will be your gym uniforms. Put those on, and meet me outside on the field.”

* * *

 

“A Quirk Assessment?” several students asked, confused by the turn of events.

“What happened to the Entrance Ceremony, or Orientation?” Uraraka asked. She had come in slightly after Izuku, but didn’t see the boy she had met during the practical since he’d already put his head down.

“If you’re going to become a hero, you don’t have time for such leisurely events. Here at U.A, we teachers have a bit of freedom with how we run classes, which includes skipping useless things. Anyways, you kids have been doing these things since Junior High, right? The physical fitness tests, where you weren’t allowed to use your Quirks. For some bizarre reason, the government insists on using these tests to determine your capabilities. It’s not rational. I keep forgetting… Which of you scored at the top of the Entrance Exam?”

The students looked blankly at each other, unsure. Iida’s shot his hand into the air.

“Sensei, I believe it was somebody called Midoriya Izuku!”

Katsuki’s eye twitched, irritated that he had to be reminded of his shortcoming, although he was used to being outperformed by Izuku at this point. Speaking of which, where was that guy? Looking around, he was surprised to spy the head of green hair right next to him, but bobbing to its own rhythm. The owner’s eyes were closed, his face turned to the ground…

Wait, was he sleeping standing up!?

“Oh, Sensei, it’s this guy here! With the green hair!” Uraraka cried, pointing to the boy she had finally spotted in the crowd of students. Aizawa directed his gaze to the boy.

“Midoriya, what was your score on the softball throw in Junior High?”

The field descended into silence, as Aizawa waited for an answer. Finally, Katsuki got annoyed.

“Sensei,” he said loudly, getting the teacher’s attention, “He’s asleep.”

Aizawa blinked at the blond, before taking a few steps to the green-haired teen.

“Huh. How irrational. What was the point of coming here if he was just gonna take a nap...?” Aizawa muttered, irritated. He casually pulled a hand out of his pocket, then with blinding speed swung it at the student’s bowed head-

Why was he on the ground?

Aizawa rolled to his feet in an instant, hands coming up to protect himself from any follow-up attacks. What the  _ hell _ just happened?

Izuku began shifting, finally raising his head. He rubbed at a drooping eyelid, and yawned loudly. He seemed to have somehow felt the disbelieving gazes on him, because he looked around. FInally, his eyes landed on Katsuki.

“...Why’s everyone looking at me?”

“YOU JUST FLIPPED THE TEACHER WHILE ASLEEP ON YOUR FEET, DIPFUCK! THE HELL WAS THAT!?”

“...Oh.” Izuku turned to who he assumed was the teacher, as the only adult present, who was also in a combat stance. “Sorry about that,” he said, then dropped his head, ready to go back to sleep.

“YOU STUPID FUCKIN’ NERD!” Katsuki shouted, bringing a hand up and clapping an explosion against Izuku’s temple, sending the boy flying in a cartwheel. He landed on his back, staring up at the sky, blinking slowly.

“...Why.”

“Get off yer ass, dammit!”

Izuku rolled onto his side and curled into a ball. “Don’t wanna.”

Aizawa finally relaxed, seeing that Midoriya was not a threat. At the moment, anyways.

“Midoriya, get up. We have things to do, and you’re wasting time.”

With a reluctant sigh, he pushed himself to his feet, with what seemed like agonizing effort.

“You didn’t answer my question; what score did you get for the softball throw in Junior High?”

Izuku stared at Katsuki, his lazy gaze irritating the ever-loving fuck out of the blond.

“WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKIN’ AT ME!?”

“I was hoping you’d know, ‘cause I don’t remember.”

“WHY DO I HAVE TO REMEMBER YOUR SHITTY SCORES, HAH!?”

Aizawa brought a hand up and pinched his nose bridge. “Whatever. Get up here Midoriya.”

In a few moments, Izuku was in the circle, rearing back for a pitch. And when he let it fly, it  _ flew _ .

Aizawa help up his phone after a few moments. In blue digital numbers, the counter read  _ 666 _ meters.

“What’s with that number?” many of his new classmates asked, slightly disturbed.

“Oh, I remember now!” Izuku exclaimed, finally awake. “My last score was an even six hundred! Looks like I got stronger!”

“Midoriya, you  _ do _ realize that the tests Junior High were supposed to be done  _ without _ your Quirk, right?”

“Yeah, but my Quirk is really weird. It’s listed as a general enhancement Quirk, but the improved strength I get is kinda permanent, so… I guess it’s actually a mutation? I can’t turn it off.”

Aizawa nodded slowly, understanding why that would be an issue for those tests.

“Alright. Anyways, the purpose of these tests is to figure out your maximum limits, so that you can eventually grow past them. That’s the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero. This was just an example, so we’re going to move to the other tests now. We’ll come back to the softball throw last. MIdoriya, since you just went, you won’t have to do it again.”

The students seemed quite cheerful, grateful that they would no longer be quite as restricted in the usage of their Quirks.

“Oh, and by the way,” Aizawa said, sounding like he’d just remembered something. The students leaned in, realizing that this man didn’t slow down, and not wanting to miss what he was going to say, in the event that it was important.

“The student with the lowest overall score will be judged as having no potential, and be expelled immediately.”

* * *

 

“Okay, it’s time to show you your scores. The total is simply the sum of the marks you got on each test. In Uraraka’s case, her score from the ball throw will be that of the second highest plus one meter. I don’t feel like saying them individually, so I’ll just show them all at once.”

Aizawa clicked a button on his phone, and a hologram popped up above, listing the names of each student with their rank and numerical score. Izuku was at the top, followed by two people named Yaoyorozu Momo and Todoroki Shouto, then Katsuki took fourth. At the very bottom was Mineta Minoru, who, judging from the crying, was the dwarf with grapes for hair.

The other members of the class shifted uncomfortably, staring at the short boy with pity, though in some cases- mostly the girls- it was with disgust. Izuku, who had no clue what was going on, and was rather tired, just ignored the entire debacle.

“Oh, by the way,” Aizawa said, cutting through the sound of ugly sobbing, “That whole expulsion thing? It was a lie.”

The class grew quiet in an instant, staring at their homeroom teacher in shock.

“It was a logical ruse,” he explained, “Designed to force you to do your absolute best, under threat of severe punishment. In times where a person experiences fear, they tend to ignore most slight discomforts to perform at their maximum.  _ That _ , is the spirit of Plus Ultra- going beyond your ordinary limits to get the job done. Anyways, with that, we’re done here. There are handouts with the curriculum and such in the classroom, so when you get back, look them over. See you tomorrow.”

* * *

 

The next day, there was no homeroom, so they got right into classes. At U.A, the schedule was split, with regular classes in the morning, followed by lunch in the massive cafeteria, then course-specific classes in the afternoon. For the first year Heroics Course, that was Foundational Hero Studies, a single class, but with a wide range of lessons, from rescue, to combat, or overall Quirk training.

“I AM-!” a loud voice boomed, invading the classroom. Jiro Kyoka, the girl with the earphone jack earlobes, flinched at the sound. Did her Quirk make her more sensitive to noise? Perhaps, since she winced again when the wooden door slammed open.

“Coming through the door like a normal person!” All Might cried, leaning into the classroom while holding onto the doorframe.

“I-it’s All Might!”

“Wow, he really  _ is  _ a teacher!”

“That’s a costume from the Silver Age, isn’t it? Kero.”

“Its style is so different, it’s giving me goosebumps!”

“Hello, my young pupils!” All Might said, finally halting his jilted march when he was behind the podium. “I will be your teacher for Foundational Hero Studies, where you will learn the basics of being a hero! This will be an everyday class, unaffected by your schedule rotations! Now, let’s get right into it!” All Might shouted, flexing his incredibly large muscles. He turned suddenly, throwing a hand in front of him that a light gust blew through the classroom, causing sparkles to appear in some student’s eyes at the display of strength.

“This is what we’ll do today!” All Might said, holding a card. “Combat training!”

The class cheered, excited at the prospect of being able to do something so active on only the second day.

“And, to go along with that, are  _ these _ !” All Might cried, pointing a section of the classroom wall which had four gray stripes on it, standing out from the whitewashed walls. Slowly, the panels rolled out of the wall, revealing tall racks with cases numbered one through twenty.

“Your Hero Costumes, made based on your Quirk registrations and the requests you sent in before classes began! Now, get changed, and meet me in Ground Beta!” All Might left the room, laughing boisterously the whole way.

* * *

 

All Might stood on an empty road, facing a large gate. Out of the darkness appeared his class of young students, all clad in outfits drastically different from their school uniforms.

“They say the clothes make the man, young men and ladies! Be fully aware; whenever you are in those outfits, you are  _ HEROES _ !”

The teens stood in front of the Number One Hero, costumes on full display.

“Yes, good! You all look very cool!” All Might called encouragingly, receiving cheers from the class. “Now, shall we begin, you zygotes!?”

The class was about to roar in approval, when a loud yawn from behind cut them off. They turned in confusion, under the impression that everyone was already present. Was it another teacher?

To their surprise, it was Izuku, stumbling along like he was dead on his feet. He yawned again, then noticed the eyes on him.

“Sorry I’m late,” he muttered, though everyone heard him in the absolute silence.

Why were they silent? It probably had something to do with what Izuku was wearing.

“Kai- er, Midoriya-shounen, are you  _ sure _ you got the right costume?”

“Hm? Of course. Why, is there something wrong?”

“N-nothing, really… It just seems very, ah, lackluster.”

“Oh.” Izuku looked down at his  _ costume _ , which consisted of a white t-shirt, baggy gray sweatpants, and a pair of black trainers. The shoes were the only things modified by the Support Department, the soles being made of tear-resistant material, able to handle high amounts of friction. The rest was just stuff from home, not special in any way. “Well, I just went for comfort and ease of movement, so…”

All MIght nodded. “Functionality is an important part of a Hero Costume- it’s why so many Pros wear tights!”

Many of the students began to nod in agreement, understanding All Might’s point. Uraraka, in particular, was quite grateful, since she no longer felt as awkward in her skintight bodysuit.

“Anyways, the point of this class is to simulate indoor urban battles!” All Might said, capturing the attention of his pupils. “You may be thinking that battles with Villains take place outside, but that is  _ not _ the case! The reason the most televised fights occur in the streets is because the more intelligent, the most  _ dangerous _ , Villains lurk out of sight, careful to not draw attention! If you look at the statistics, more conflicts with Villains happen indoors than out! Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals- in this society filled with Heroes, the worst crimes are hidden in the shadows!

“For this class, you will be split into teams of two, then two teams will be set against each other! One team will be the Villains, with the goal of safeguarding an objective and defeating the Heroes, while the other team will be the Heroes, with the goal of capturing the objective and defeating the Villains! There will be two ways to win; For the Villains, it will be to survive the entire ten minutes while keeping the objective safe, or capturing  _ both _ of the Heroes, using the special capture tape I will be providing! For the Heroes, it will be to secure the objective before the ten minutes are up, which can be done by simply touching it, or capturing both of the Villains! Now, we will be drawing lots to determine the teams, since in a real-life crisis, you will likely not be able to choose who you work with!”

With a flourish, All Might produced a box from behind him, and held it out to the closest students. Hesitantly, they stepped forwards. The closest one, Katsuki, stuck a bracer-fitted hand into the box, which thankfully had a large enough opening for him to grab a ball without getting stuck. That would have been quite embarrassing. He tilted the sphere to show All Might the character painted on it, then tossed it back into the box.

“Alright, Bakugou-shonen is on Team D! Now come, young men and young women, and decide your fate!”

* * *

 

Team A: Midoriya Izuku and Yaoyorozu Momo

Team B: Shoji Mezo and Todoroki Shouto

Team C: Iida Tenya and Uraraka Ochako

Team D: Bakugou Katsuki and Minoru Mineta

Team E: Aoyama Yuga and Ashido Mina

Team F: Sato Rikido and Koda Koji

Team G: Kaminari Denki and Jiro Kyoka

Team H: Tokoyami Fumikage and Asui Tsuyu

Team I: Ojiro Mashirao and Hagakure Tooru

Team J: Kirishima Eijirou and Sero Hanta

* * *

 

“The first battle will be… Team A as the Heroes, versus Team D as the Villains!”

* * *

 


	5. Chapter 5

Team A: Midoriya Izuku and Yaoyorozu Momo

Team B: Shoji Mezo and Todoroki Shouto

Team C: Iida Tenya and Uraraka Ochako

Team D: Bakugou Katsuki and Minoru Mineta

Team E: Aoyama Yuga and Ashido Mina

Team F: Sato Rikido and Koda Koji

Team G: Kaminari Denki and Jiro Kyoka

Team H: Tokoyami Fumikage and Asui Tsuyu

Team I: Ojiro Mashirao and Hagakure Tooru

Team J: Kirishima Eijirou and Sero Hanta

* * *

 

**“The first battle will be… Team A as the Heroes, versus Team D as the Villains!”**

* * *

 

“So, Midoriya-kun, how do you want to do this?” Yaoyorozu asked her teammate. To her chagrin, she received no reply.

“Midoriya-kun?” she asked again, looking at him closely… Yup, he was asleep on his feet again. She sighed, then created a short staff to poke him awake. She had seen what Midoriya had done to Aizawa-sensei… Or rather, she  _ hadn’t _ , which was all the more terrifying, because she had been watching them at the time. Either way, she didn’t want to be the next unlucky person to experience it.

It took a few tries, but the green-haired teen finally began to stir. He yawned, as was customary, and began to look around.

“Hm?” he mumbled, seemingly confused by his new surroundings. Yaoyorozu sighed again.

“Midoriya-kun, are you alright? I don’t think it’s healthy to be so tired that you constantly fall asleep on your feet.”

Izuku yawned, waving off her concern. “It’s fine, Yao… Yao- uh, Yao, Yao Yao Yao… How do you say your surname? I don’t think I was really paying attention when the teams we being announced.”

“It’s pronounced Yaoyorozu,” she said patiently.

“Alright; Yao… Can I just call you Momo?”

Yaoyorozu exhaled loudly through her nose, before simply nodding.

“Well, it’s fine, Momo. I just ran out of coffee at home, and haven’t had a chance to head to the store to get more.”

“If it helps, I can make you some now?”

“Uh, what?”

“It’s part of my Quirk, Creation. I can create anything using the fat stores in my body, so long as I know the chemical makeup of it.”

“Woah, that’s really cool, and probably all kinds of useful! Have you tried creating new chemicals with it, or can you only make pre-existing things?” Izuku asked, waking up a bit in the face of interesting information.

“I’ve never really tried to make new things, since I have no clue how they’ll react, or with what. It’d be bad if I pulled out a piece of metal that combusted upon contact with the air, right?”

“Right, that  _ would _ suck… Anyways, coffee?” he asked, seeming very hopeful. Momo smiled, slightly amused by his hardly-restrained desire.

Momo’s bare stomach began to glow, and out from it emerged a simple white porcelain mug. She hovered her index finger over the the cup, which began to glow as well, then started dispensing a rich, steaming brown liquid into it.

“I’m sorry if it’s not to your liking- I’ve been told that I put far too much sugar in my beverages. It’s likely a side effect of my Quirk, since it relies on energy from food…”

Izuku hummed, not really listening due to the prospect of coffee. Taking the mug, he raised it for a tentative sip. He rolled the hot drink around his tongue, coating each of his teeth in it, before swallowing, feeling the heat slowly travel down his esophagus.

“So… How is it?” Momo asked, suddenly nervous.

“Mmmm,” Izuku grunted, then lifted the mug and threw it back, draining it down his gullet in one smooth motion. He tossed the now empty cup off to the side, ignoring the sound of it shattering.

Momo, however, tracked the flying porcelain with her eyes, and was thus unprepared for Izuku to step forward and grab both her hands between his own. She squeaked, turning to face him, and found herself staring slightly up, into his emerald eyes which were now sparkling.

“Marry me.”

Slowly, Momo’s face began to turn red, darkening from her normal milky color to become a violent shade similar to a tomato.

“Wh-wh-what!? M-m-m- _ marry _ !?”

Izuku nodded enthusiastically, tightening his grip on her hands. “That was the  _ best _ damned coffee I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a  _ lot _ of coffee. I need that in my life, and since you’re the source, that means I need  _ you _ in my life.”

At this point, Momo was steaming. “M-Midoriya-kun, this is hardly the time…” the girl stammered, turning away from his intense gaze.

“FIVE MINUTES ARE UP! HERO TEAM, YOU MAY NOW ENTER THE BUILDING!”

“Ah. That was fast,” Izuku said, letting go of Momo. “What should we do?”

For a few seconds, the mature teen floundered, but managed to regain her breath, even if her face wouldn’t cool down.

“M-maybe we should try and go in from the top of the building? A full-frontal entrance would lead to conflict far too quickly, and it’s likely they placed the objective in one of the upper floors, since they aren’t expecting an attack from above.”

“Right, that makes sense to me. So, are we doing this quietly, or does it matter?”

“I think we should do it quietly, if we are trying to avoid combat for at least a little while. Just give me a moment, I can make climbing gear for both of us-”

“No need,” Izuku interrupted, then crouched low. Like a spring, he uncoiled, slamming into the wall of the building they needed to enter, then bouncing off it to the neighboring structure. With one more leap, he easily cleared the remaining two floors, and alighted upon the roof. He stood at the edge, staring intently at his teammate, who smiled in return.

“Throw me a rope,” Izuku told her through their communication devices, “I’ll pull you up.”

Complying, Momo Created a segment of braided twine, along with a safety harness. Putting the two pieces together, she tossed one end of the rope up to Izuku, with the other tied to her harness. He caught it, and a thumbs up from the girl indicated that she was ready. She was  _ not _ expecting Izuku to simply yank her up in one motion.

Momo shrieked as she flew high into the air, as if launched by a cannon, then beginning a speedy descent to the earth, only to land in Izuku’s arms. The boy was laughing, while Momo felt like she was moments away from a heart attack.

“Midoriya-kun!” she cried, batting at his shoulder. The boy put her down, then doubled over laughing. He eventually ended up on his knees, forehead pressing against the top of the building.

“Holy shit… Ow, breathe… That was  _ hilarious _ !” he wheezed, trying to pull himself together.

“It was not!” Momo cried, crossing her arms under her impressive chest, looking quite put out.

“Yes it  _ was _ ! That scream was adorable, too!”

Shocked, Momo’s cheeks turned red once more, and she took a step backwards- right off the edge of the building. She began to fall-

And then suddenly, she wasn’t. She was now in the arms of Izuku once more, who had reacted with lightning-quick reflexes, and lunged forward to drag Momo back to safety.

“Woah, are you okay?” Izuku asked, and Momo could feel his voice vibrating in his chest from their close proximity. She nodded mutely, doing her best to not look up and make eye contact, lest her embarrassment make her faint.

Izuku heaved a sigh of relief, then cautiously let go of his teammate, making sure her footing was steady.

“Sorry about that- I was just teasing you. Didn’t expect you to move in that direction…” he said quietly, guilt evident in his voice.

“It- it’s fine. I was at fault, too, for not paying attention to my surroundings even though we’re at the edge of a roof.”

They were silent for a moment, before Izuku once more spoke up.

“Well, I think we should get going. We’re already a bit behind.”

Momo nodded, wondering what their next course of action should be.

“Think we should just run in now? They might’ve heard your scream, and it’ll probably take a while to quietly open the window.”

Momo pondered the proposition, before deciding that Izuku might have a point.

“Well, this  _ is _ just a mock battle, and we don’t exactly have the most time…”

Izuku understood where she was going, and went to the edge. He dropped into a crouch, and with one hand grasping the corner, swung over the side. The sound of shattering glass had Momo rushing to the ledge and looking down, where Izuku sat in a now-shattered window.

“Come on,” Izuku said, reaching a hand up to her, “I promise I won’t do anything crazy this time.”

Hesitantly, Momo accepted it, crouching down on the edge of the roof to be able to reach.

“Alright, I’m gonna pull you down, but I’ll be right here to catch you. Ready?”

After an instant of indecision, Momo nodded sharply, bracing herself. Izuku, to his credit, was gentle when he tugged on her this time, simply making her tip over the edge rather than go flying. She fell for a few inches, heart stuck in her throat, before impacting with Izuku’s solid chest. Using his impressive agility, Izuku quickly pulled them into the building, and set Momo down on the tiled floor.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, right?” Izuku asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

“...It could’ve been worse,” Momo acquiesced, and got a small smile for her silent forgiveness of his stunt.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps rushing down the hall, and they tensed up. Izuku stepped forward, ready to take on whoever turned the corner- most likely Katsuki, if the weight behind the footfalls was any indication. Minoru didn’t seem large enough to be able to make that amount of noise while running.

He was proven correct when a flash of green poked around the corner. Minoru’s costume consisted of only purple and yellow, and this dark green was at a height that the boy couldn’t reach due to his small stature.

Katsuki followed his gauntlet in his signature right hook, which Izuku had identified through their many months of daily sparring. He attempted to grab Katsuki’s arm, and spin him around to slam him into the wall, thus winding him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t accounted for the wide radius of the gauntlet, and his hand simply wasn’t large enough to encircle it. All he ended up doing was slapping the arm aside as it slipped from his fingers, redirecting the inevitable explosion Katsuki released upon seeing his opponents.

Izuku recovered quickly, lashing out with his other hand to jab Katsuki in the stomach, which the blond ran right into due to his momentum. Doubled over, Izuku slammed a fist on Katsuki’s back, sending the boy to the floor. However, Katsuki had gotten much faster thanks to their training, and was able to adjust his landing so that his bent elbows hit the ground. While the impact jarred him with a painful shock, he ignored it in favor of loosing two large blasts from his hands, which were now crossed over his chest to point his open palms behind the opposite shoulders.

Izuku leapt back to a spot next to Momo, while Katsuki took advantage of the smokescreen in the air to hop to his feet. Katsuki, not wanting to let up, shoved his arms behind him and propelled himself with two large explosions, then readjusted his arms into an attacking position. The maneuver pushed Katsuki slightly into the air, and he had also bent his knees out of habit, so Izuku was able to roll underneath his friend’s feet, getting slightly grazed by Katsuki’s shoes.

Katsuki was surprised at the unorthodox manner of dodging, but ignored it in favor of focusing on his new target; Momo, who had been standing by in shock while the two boys moved at speeds beyond her. The exchange had only taken a few seconds.

She took a step back as Katsuki locked eyes with her, hand instinctively reaching to her glowing torso, but she was too slow. The staff she was attempting to Create was only half-made before Katsuki reached her and knocked her back with a small explosion. She collided with the wall next to the window they entered from, and fear entered her eyes when she looked up to see Katsuki winding up for another attack.

Fortunately for her, Izuku was not idle. He had jumped after the blond the instant he had gotten to his feet, grabbing onto Katsuki’s shoulder and swinging him around to place Izuku between the temporary-Villain and his teammate.

“Momo, are you ok!?” he asked, without turning to look at her. As Aizawa-sensei would say, it would be the height of irrationality to turn his back on the enemy, and even more so to underestimate them. Izuku had no clue what tricks Katsuki had up his sleeve with his Hero Costume, so he had to be careful. Considering how the boy’s Quirk, Explosion, worked, would it be possible to gather up his nitroglycerin sweat without it detonating automatically? If so, would that allow for the creation of throwable grenades, which would drastically increase Katsuki’s range? Perhaps the ability to create traps, which would litter the rest of the pathway to the objective, possibly harming his teammate?

At the moment, Izuku had no answer for his questions, so he would just have to take this step by step. But first…

“Momo, I’m gonna hold Katsuki here! When you get the chance, I need you to slip by and go find the objective!”

“R-right!” Momo replied, slightly shaken from the focused anger in Katsuki’s eyes. She shook it off, however- she had a mission to complete!

“Like hell I’m just gonna let you get past me! You’re pretty fuckin’ stupid, Izuku, talkin’ about your plans in front of the enemy!” Katsuki yelled, fingers curled into claws. He refrained from setting off any intimidating firecracker; he wanted to keep as much sweat on his palms as possible, to be ready for a massive blast at a moment’s notice.

“You don’t have a choice!” Izuku shouted back, then rushed the blond. He was a meter away, both their arms raised to deliver strong punches, when Izuku suddenly disappeared from Katsuki’s line of sight. Used to the maneuver, Katsuki immediately raised his arms upwards, using small, controlled explosions to increase his movement speed. However, unlike in their training sessions, Izuku was not directly above him, as he had expected. When the green-haired teen went up, he bounced off the ceiling to get right behind his friend, something he normally could not do since they usually fought outside.

Katsuki, not expecting his opponent’s position, choked when an arm snaked around his neck, pulling him back. Izuku twisted around to put the blond in a headlock, putting enough pressure to deprive him of oxygen. Katsuki was now in an incredibly disadvantageous situation, bent backwards so that he couldn’t get leverage from his legs, and trying to blast an opponent with diamond-tough skin.

The entire time, Katsuki was letting loose explosions, which were gradually getting larger due to an increased amount of perspiration caused by his fear of losing.

“Momo, go!” Izuku shouted, wincing when a particularly big blast caught him in the face. He almost let go, but instead shifted a few centimeters and tightened his grip.

“Y-yeah!” Momo replied. She ran around the struggling duo, careful to avoid Katsuki’s explosive failing, before continuing down the hall and turning the corner, out of sight.

Izuku watched her go, and the instant she was gone, let go of Katsuki. However, he quickly followed up by grabbing the blond’s face, and slamming the back of his head into the ground. The floor tile cracked slightly, but there- hopefully- wasn’t enough force to give his friend a concussion.

Izuku leaped away, crouching close to the floor, ready to burst into movement at any moment. He watched Katsuki struggle to his feet, rubbing at his neck and gasping for air.

“Eat a dick!” Katsuki wheezed, fire in his eyes.

“How about  _ no _ ?” Izuku replied casually, but he was carefully watching his opponent’s legs and arms, looking for any signs that Katsuki would try to come closer. It came when the blond pushed his arms behind, palms angled slightly at the ground, and blasted his way forward. Like before, Katsuki went into the air about a foot, knees bent out of habit, and like before, Izuku took advantage of it by rolling underneath the airborne temporary-Villain.

However, Katsuki had learnt his lesson since last time. He tossed his hands straight up, and released two large explosions which propelled him straight down into Izuku, driving his combat boots right into the boy’s stomach. Izuku bent up around the legs, then flopped back to the ground, winded. Katsuki had gotten him right in the solar plexus, which began to constrict painfully.

Grabbing the blond’s leg, Izuku made use of his insane strength to fling his opponent off him, almost sending him into a wall had he not used a few blasts to halt his momentum.

This time, it was Izuku wheezing for air and struggling to his feet, waiting for his lungs to get back into their normal rhythm. It took a precious few seconds, during which Katsuki was oddly quiet.

The blond was rubbing his palms together, which confused Izuku. However, once he managed to get air back into his bloodstream, his brain finally understood; Katsuki was using friction to generate more heat, and thus more nitro-sweat!

Katsuki saw his friend’s eyes widen, and let out a feral grin. A gauntleted arm shot out in front of him, pointing straight at Izuku. For some reason that Izuku couldn’t comprehend, Katsuki’s palms were not open. Instead, the blond was pointing a fist at him, which was most definitely  _ not  _ how his Quirk worked.

Apparently, it was his Hero Costume worked, though. The blond reached up and pulled a pin out of his gauntlet, shoving it into the pocket of his cargo pants, and an orb of light popped into existence in front of the hole in the gauntlet’s steel-gray protrusion.

Understanding struck like lightning, and Izuku leapt forward, hoping to redirect Katsuki’s arm. Unfortunately, just this one time, Izuku had been slower than his friend, and the world became bright lights and deafening noise.

* * *

 

“Holy  _ shit! _ ” All Might cried, momentarily forgetting that he was in a room full of children. Well, they were all in high school, so it shouldn’t have been anything they hadn’t heard before. Plus, he said it in English, so nobody really understood him. They were also busy panicking at the way that the explosion engulfed the hallway, and heat haze caused the camera they were watching through to go on the fritz.

That wasn’t important. What  _ was _ important was how Midoriya-shounen had taken the massive blast to the face, nearly point-blank. He understood what the boy was going for, but knew just how dangerous that type of maneuver was. It was simply bad luck on the green-haired teen’s side that made him realize what was going on just a millisecond too slow.

“Midoriya-shounen!” All MIght shouted into the mic, his voice echoing throughout the entire building. On a separate camera, Momo and Minoru, who were facing off at the moment, paused in their fight at the shaking of the building, and the unbridled fear in All Might’s voice.

“He’ll survive, sensei!” Bakugou-shounen shouted, his voice being picked up by the camera’s microphone, and echoing through the now-silent observation room. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done it. I’m not a friggin’ retard!”

All Might remained silent, instead waiting to see if the blond was correct. The smoke cleared, and Midoriya-shounen was, to the surprise of everybody, still on his feet. His back had slammed into the wall, getting partially enlodged, but he seemed to be supporting most of his weight with his legs. His arms were crossed in front of his face, and were, like the rest of his now-shirtless upper body, blackened with soot and dust.

The Number One Hero heaved a massive sigh of relief. He went to click the button to activate his microphone, but Bakugou-shounen burst into motion, rushing his opponent, much to All Might’s panic.

* * *

 

Izuku was, to put it simply, disoriented. HIs ears were buzzing, and it felt like his eyes had been seared by the sun. His skin ached, and felt hot. Something sharp was digging into his back, but it wasn’t piercing him, so it was fine.

“Bakugou-shounen, stop!” he heard somebody shout, but it sounded distant, muted.

He let out a sharp breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and uncrossed his arms. It wouldn’t do to have Katsuki out of his line-of-sight, after all. Unfortunately, he was once more too slow, because a miniature star appeared in front of his front of his face.

“ _ RAGE, YOU DAMN NERD _ !”

The world vanished in white light again.

* * *

 

“STOP THE EXERCISE!” All Might shouted into the microphone, then shot out of the observation room many times faster than a speeding bullet.

He reached the site of the destruction in an instant, and was shocked to see a gaping hole in the wall that Midoriya-shounen had been pressed up again just moments ago. The hero had left the cameras before the smoke cleared, and therefore had no idea the true extent of the damage. Until now.

Sunlight streamed in, and there was no sign of Midoriya-shounen. He rushed to the edge of the massive opening, bypassing Bakugou-shounen with hardly a glance. He peered down at the street, eyes sifting through the rubble littering the asphalt. Where was Midoriya-shounen…?

_ There! _

Leaping out of the building, All Might hit the ground feet-first, cracking it. He rushed to his student, whose eyes were closed, and…

“No…” All Might, whispered, falling to his knees next to the green-haired teen.

A bloodied rebar was sticking through his chest, right where his heart was.

* * *

 


	6. Chapter 6

Yagi Toshinori’s world was falling apart at the moment. Never before had he failed to such a degree. Sure, he had been unable to save some people in his decades-long career, but for every one he had missed, he saved a hundred-thousand more. However, even those deaths had never been of people directly under his care, and they had definitely never been because he had engineered the situation.

“Midoriya-shounen…?” he whispered, hoping against hope that the green-haired teen, who looked like he was just sleeping at the moment, would get up and reassure All Might- and wasn’t that twist? He, the Number One Hero in Japan, the one who had always saved others, now needed saving himself.

Blasts sounded behind him, followed by the crunching of glass and shifting of pebbles as somebody approached the scene. Looking behind him, he was overcome with a nearly uncontrollable rage when he saw Bakugou-shounen, the one that had caused this, looking as if this a mere annoyance. However, he managed to hold himself back from pummeling the blond. Barely.

_ He’s just a kid _ , Toshinori told himself. Still, would it kill him to at least look a  _ little _ regretful?

All Might climbed to his feet, towering over Bakugou-shounen.

“You disobeyed my orders. I told you to stop your actions, and now, because you ignored me, Midoriya-shounen is…  _ Dead _ .” Toshinori had to force the word out around the lump in his throat.

What did Bakugou-shounen do? Did he break down in tears, begging for forgiveness, claiming it was just an accident? Did he cower in fear at the looming bulk of the Pro Hero? No.

He  _ scoffed _ .

Shocked to his very core, Toshinori could only watch as Bakugou-shounen approached his… His  _ victim _ , looking disgusted. And then, he did something which caused All MIght’s heart to stop.

He kicked Midoriya-shounen’s corpse in the face.

“Wake up, you shitty nerd.”

And, somehow, it looked like Midoriya-shounen planned to do exactly that. His face scrunched up in pain, or as if he smelled something unpleasant, and his eyelids parted slowly, revealing his emerald eyes. They were full of life, and Toshinori dropped to his knees in relief.

* * *

 

“Katsuki, you’re such an asshole.”

“Uh-huh, because  _ I’m _ the one who’s about the make sensei cry.”

Izuku blinked, then blearily began to look around. He caught sight of All Might kneeling on the ground, his ever-present smile completely gone, but the man didn’t look like he was going to  _ cry _ . Then again, he couldn’t exactly judge the expression of someone he’d met a total of three times.

Izuku shook his head, then attempted to push himself up with his arms.  _ Mistake _ .

“Urgh,  _ fuck _ !” Izuku shouted as pain exploded in his chest. He glanced down, and realized that,  _ maybe _ , it was the metal spear piercing his heart that caused that. Grimacing, Izuku wrapped a hand around the pole, then pulled back with another.

He struck the metal, causing it to snap at the point closest to his chest, throwing the excess off to the side. Then, much to the chagrin of his small audience, he began to push himself up again. This time, he ignored the pain through sheer willpower, but couldn’t hold in the small grunts he huffed out. He also couldn’t exactly do anything about the squelching noises, but since neither of the blonds looked like they were going to puke, he ignored it.

Finally, he rose high enough that the snapped metal pole popped out, bringing with it a flood of blood, and Izuku dropped to the ground next to his would-be killer, breathing heavily.

All MIght moved to help, but by the time he reached Izuku, who was only about a meter away, the bleeding had stopped. Izuku still lay in a crimson puddle, but it wasn’t actively growing larger. It only looked that way since it was a liquid, and continued to spread.

“Midoriya-shounen!” All Might cried, reaching out hesitantly. The green-haired teen waved him away, then sat up, ignoring his screaming chest.

“Young man, I must insist you  _ stop moving _ ! You should not have pulled the pole out, either! You are bleeding  _ far _ too much!”

“Sh!” Izuku put a finger in front of his bared teeth to emphasize his command, and All Might was shocked into silence once more. The teen pushed himself to his feet with staggering effort, grabbing onto Katsuki’s shoulder.

The blond boy was surprisingly patient as Izuku took a few deep breaths, then finally let go.

“Alright, let’s continue!” Izuku said, rearing back and slamming a kick into Katsuki’s stomach, sending the blond flying back into the building, where he entered through a window on one of the lower floors. The initial blow had been light, since he only wanted to wind the teen, but he used all of his strength on the throw.

“M-Midoriya-shounen! The exercise has been called off!” All Might cried, moving to block the young man from re-engaging in combat. “Besides, you  _ must _ go see Recovery Girl! There is no telling what will happen if you continue on like this!” All Might may have said that, he knew very well that doing any sort of strenuous activity with a fatal wound would result in death. It was almost a guarantee, and the reason many Heroes had died in the line of duty; because they kept going, even when they were already far beyond their limits.

Izuku huffed in aggravation, then pointed a thumb at the hole in his chest, which had closed up. Nothing but smooth skin was left behind, not even a scar to indicate that the injury had happened in the first place.

“Ya see that? Exactly, there’s  _ nothing there _ . Meaning, there’s no reason to go see Recovery Girl. Now, restart the exercise, and get outta the way- that little bastard wanted me to rage, and right now I’m pissed the  _ fuck off _ !”

Izuku ignored whatever All MIght was going to say next, and leapt up into the same window that Katsuki had gone through. To his surprise, he was slapped with a blast from below, getting sent flying up into the ceiling and cracking it. Looking down, he saw that his opponent had been crouched down under the window, in such a way that Izuku wouldn’t have been able to see him from the outside.

Growling quietly, Izuku slammed his arms up against the roof, dislodging himself, then pushing off with his feet at the last second. A quick spin in the air to reorient himself had him facing off with Katsuki, the two teens glaring at each other.

“What the fuck was that, anyways?” Izuku asked, gesturing to the blond’s gauntlets.

“I asked the Support Company to make storage compartments for my sweat, so I could gather up a fuckton and use those massive explosions,” Katsuki explained, grinning while glaring. It would’ve been disconcerting, if Izuku was used to it already.

“You realize that if you used that on anyone other than me, they would’ve died, right?”

“ _ Obviously _ , you shitstain. Was still hoping it’d kill you, though.”

Izuku’s eye twitched, and gritted his teeth. “You  _ really _ wanna make me mad, don’t you?”

“That’s the plan, fuckface!” Katsuki shouted, breaking the standoff by rushing forward.

“Fine- don’t blame me for what happens, though.”

A chill went down Katsuki’s spine, but he kept rushing, even as he saw darkness bleeding into the whites of Izuku’s eyes, his emerald pupils turning a deep, crimson red- the same color as blood. He’d never seen his friend like this, but that just kicked his anticipation for the fight up another notch.

He was  _ not _ , however, anticipating Izuku to simply vanish. Before Katsuki could even think to slow down and examine his surroundings to search for his friend, something slammed into his side with the force of a truck, sending him through a wall and halfway into another.

Dazed, he had no way to protect himself when Izuku reappeared in front of him, grabbing the low collar of his costume’s vest. Spinning around, the green-haired teen threw Katsuki with all his might, launching him like a rocket.

Izuku vanished into a blur once more, trailing after the blond projectile, and bouncing off the walls to deliver strikes from above, below, and the sides the whole time. His legs were generating so much force that the walls of the corridor were being mercilessly torn apart, while his blows were so fast that the previous one had no time to displace Katsuki before the next one struck.

By the time they reached the end of the impromptu flight, the hallway looked like a warzone, not helped by Katsuki slamming into the wall and leaving another crater.

Not one to simply let sleeping dogs lie, Izuku struck one last time. Appearing ten meters in front of Katsuki, he leapt forward to drive both his feet into the blond’s stomach. He doubled over, coughing up a few drops of blood, then slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Staring blankly down at the sight of his knocked out friend, Izuku took a deep breath, and held it. Slowly, his eyes began to change, shifting from black and red to the usual green and white. Due to the angle of the nearby camera, nobody in the class had seen the change in appearance.

Releasing the breath he had taken in to calm himself, Izuku’s whole frame untensed, and he slouched his shoulders in exhaustion. That little stunt had used up the last of the energy he had gotten from Momo’s coffee, leaving him ready to fall asleep on his feet. Speaking of which, where  _ was _ Momo?

“TIME’S UP! SINCE THE HERO TEAM FAILED TO RETRIEVE THE OBJECTIVE, THE VILLAIN TEAM  _ WINS _ !”

Well, it didn’t exactly matter now. Bending down to sling Katsuki over his shoulder, he began on his way back to the observation room. If he remembered where it was, that is…

* * *

 

“So, can anybody tell me who the MVP of this match was?”

Asui raised her hand tentatively. Or maybe it just looked like that, since her joints were a bit different from most people.

“I think that would be Mineta-kun, All Might-sensei.” Many members of the class gaped at her, but one or two could understand where she was coming from.

“Well, Bakugou-chan ignored the point of the challenge completely just to have a grudge match, and Midoriya-chan got drawn in. Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu-chan started off fine, but once Mineta-kun got a bit…  _ Weird _ , she lost her composure and ended up getting captured. Meanwhile, Mineta-kun set up some pretty ingenious traps, and managed to guard the objective the entire time, even if he did some pretty disgusting things.”

“Correct!” All Might boomed, pointing a thumbs-up at the frog girl. “Better than I could’ve said it myself! Indeed, Mineta-shounen was the MVP of this match! Though I do not approve of his methods, they were valid, and truly portrayed the attitude of a Villain!”

Izuku stopped listening to the teacher at that point, turning his head slightly to his teammate.

“Momo, what did Mineta do to you?”

Momo, not expecting the question, looked at him oddly, before her eyes dipped slightly below his neck. She turned to look straight in an instant, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Following her glance, Izuku looked down, and realized he still wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Oh, sorry. I don’t have another shirt, though, so…” he said quietly. Momo nodded, indicating that she heard him, and quickly Created a white t-shirt. She passed it to the green-haired boy, who smiled gently at her. She turned away, her face much more red than before.

Izuku chuckled. “Thanks; I was getting a bit chilly. Anyways, you didn’t answer my question.”

Momo’s blush faded, and she placed a hand against her chest, looking troubled.

“Well…” she began, oddly unwilling to say anything. Izuku, seeming to catch this, prompted her once more.

“Momo,” he said, more firmly than before, and she realized she would not be getting out of this anytime soon.

“He… He didn’t actually touch me or anything, but the position he trapped me in was very…  _ Unseemly _ , and the things he said were quite vulgar. Truthfully... I’m a bit hesitant to be in the same room as him now.”

Izuku slouched a bit, hunching his shoulders in what seemed like fatigue. However, it was actually an attempt to lean forward slightly to see to Momo’s side, without being obvious about it. He caught sight of the short purple boy- was he wearing a  _ diaper _ ?- and took note of the way he was ogling Momo, nearly drooling. The sinister glint in his eyes was not reassuring in the slightest.

“Stay away from him,” Izuku said quietly, voice hard and leaving no room for argument. Momo’s head bobbed up slightly in shock at the commanding tone.

“I’ve seen people with the same look in his eyes as him, and the things they do…”

Izuku refused to elaborate, but Momo had an inkling as to where he was going with that statement. Her eyes hardened, and she barely repressed a shudder. She nodded resolutely, doing her absolute best to not look to her left, and accidentally glance at the perverted grape.

Izuku, meanwhile, was doing the complete opposite. He stared straight at Mineta, waiting for the smaller boy to notice him. It took a few seconds for him to rip his eyes away from Momo’s ample bust and luscious curves, but he soon locked eyes with an emerald gaze. Those emerald orbs changed color in a flash, shifting into a blood moon hanging in a starless night, and Minoru Mineta knew  _ fear _ .

“Wh- _ what the hell!? _ ” he shouted, startling the rest of class, who were watching Jiro and Kaminari stalk through the building as the Heroes, searching for Sato, Koda, and the objective.

“What’s wrong, Mineta-shounen?” All Might asked gently.

“His- his eyes!” Mineta yelled, pointing at Izuku…

Whose head was now facing the ground. He seemed to be asleep on his feet, as was becoming commonplace, and the rest of the class shifted in confusion.

“It seems like his eyes have been closed for quite some time, Mineta-shounen… Did you, perchance, hit your head during your match? Do you need to go see Recovery Girl?”

“No, I  _ swear _ they were open just now! And they were  _ red _ !”

All MIght had no clue what to say. Izuku showed no signs of faking his sleep, and also didn’t seem to be waking up anytime soon, so what had Mineta seen? He decided to deflect the matter entirely, unsure of what else he could do, besides waking up the green-haired boy. He was reluctant to do that, however, considering the boy was tired enough to fall asleep on his feet. That took an incredible amount of exhaustion, which even the perpetually-tired Aizawa Shota seemed to be free from.

“Well, it might be a part of his Quirk that he has yet to showcase. If you see something odd again, though, speak up. For now, let us just watch the matches.”

* * *

 

Katsuki woke up in the Nurse’s Office, not sure where he was. In an attempt to find out, he tried to sit up, only to go back down with a groan of pain and a loud curse.

“Oh, you’re awake?” A high-pitched voice asked. Turning his head, he saw Recovery GIrl sitting in a chair next to his bed.

“The nurse…?” he muttered to himself, not caring if she heard. “What happened?”

“It seems like you got roughed up pretty good in class, hon. Fractured ribs, both tibia, and both ulna, as well as slight internal bleeding. I had to wait until you woke up to use my Quirk on you, since it doesn’t work on sleeping people. Now, just sit still dearie.”

The elderly woman’s lips stretched out to poke Katsuki on his temple with a loud smacking sound, much to his disgust. However, he knew about Recovery Girl’s Healing Kiss, and listened to her command. Once she pulled back, the pain in his body vanished, followed by a riptide of exhaustion, which almost pulled him into the sea of sleep. Through sheer willpower, he managed to fend off the wave of tiredness, battling his heavy eyelids.

Recovery Girl handed him a small bag of gummies. “Those are packed with enough nutrients to at least hold you over until you get home. Make sure to finish those, and get an extra-large meal later, otherwise you’ll still be tired tomorrow.”

Katsuki nodded, then got up to change out of his battered Hero Costume- he’d probably have to send it in for repairs. After donning his U.A uniform, Katsuki left without a word. His mind was too occupied to even attempt to bother with pleasantries, and he walked to the train station in silence. Classes had ended about a half hour ago, and all his classmates had gone home.

Checking his phone, he found a text from Izuku;  _ Went home without you since you were still sleeping. _

Short, simple, and to the point- exactly what he’d come to expect from Izuku over the months… So why was the boy so secretive with his Quirk? Every time Katsuki had asked about it, Izuku had just waved him off with the assurance that it was “an above-average general enhancement Quirk.”

Katsuki knew there was more to it than that, felt it in bones. Normal strength-augmenting Quirks didn’t give regeneration, at all. Another thing; what was up with Izuku’s eyes during the Battle Trial? He’d never seen them turn red like that, no matter how aggravated the green-haired boy was. There was something up with Izuku’s Quirk, but all he had to do was simply tell Katsuki to lay off about it, not  _ lie _ about it.

Katsuki respected Izuku, and would have respected his decision to not talk about it, yet as far as the blond was concerned, his friend had never made that decision. Not that he knew of. So, he had free reign to be as nosy as he wanted.

One day, Katsuki would get to the bottom of this. Until then, he’d just have to watch for those rare moments when Izuku slipped up, and revealed a bit too much.

* * *

 

Yaoyorozu Momo knew she was what most people would consider beautiful. A symmetrical, unblemished face. Easily managed, silky black hair. Large breasts- larger than many older women’s- and curves that would make a circle jealous.

Sometimes, however, she hated her beauty. Just as it drew compliments, it also drew attention of an incredibly disgusting nature. Namely, perverts. As the sole heir of the Yaoyorozu Zaibatsu, she had been kidnapped a few times by business enemies looking for leverage and people who wanted ransom money. By far, the worst was the lecherous men, who wanted neither money nor recognition, but instead…  _ Pleasure _ .

They were horrible, putting their filthy hands on her in what they must’ve thought were gentle caresses, but for Momo, it was like every molecule of her body that they were in contact with was being burned to a crisp, slowly dying until nothing was left except ashes. Even those withered to nothingness in the face of such foul intentions.

Thankfully, that was as far as they’d ever gotten before the Heroes hired by her parents- and her parents themselves- barged in, taking down the criminals with extreme prejudice. Every single one of them was locked up in a lower-security portion of Tartarus, never to see the light of day again.

That was the reason she wanted to attend U.A High School and become a Hero. She hoped to be able to learn to defend herself, and prevent those types of things from ever happening to her again. She also wanted to learn the skills which would allow her to help anybody else who ever found themselves in that position, as well as hopefully preventing those situations in the first place.

However, Momo still had nightmares. What would have happened to her if her parents had been a bit slower? If the criminals had been a bit smarter, removing the tracking devices on and in her person, as well as traveling to an isolated place, separate from civilization? Her bad dreams were filled with scenes of those disgusting men, locking her in various positions with cuffs and chains, tearing her clothes of with their disgusting hands, and removing their pants to reveal…

After today’s experience in the Battle Trial, she knew that Minoru Mineta would be joining those nightmares.

* * *

 


	7. Chapter 7

“Will you tell us about what the Symbol of Peace is like as a teacher!?”

“What he’s like!? Um… He’s very muscular!”

* * *

 

“What do you think of All Might as a teacher!?”

“He made me recognize anew that I attend an educational institution that is the best of the best. Of course, his dignity and character go without saying, but we students are constantly able to see his humorous side. It is a unique opportunity to learn about being a top hero directly from one!”

* * *

 

“Excuse me! Can you tell me about All Migh-!?”

“Friggin’  _ stop it _ !”

* * *

 

“Um, about All Might… Woah, you’re scruffy! What’s up with that!?”

“You’re disturbing the classes. Please leave.”  _ I can’t believe All Might was able to work as a Hero with all this… _

“Oi… Just a little time is enough! Just let me see All Might-!”

_ BEEP! _

“ _ WOAH! _ ”

* * *

 

“Good work on yesterday’s combat training. I saw the videos and the results. Bakugou, Midoriya, you two are talented- don’t act like idiots.”

“I  _ know _ .”

“‘Kay~.”

“Minoru… Control yourself.”

“Y-yes, sensei!”

“Now, let’s get down to homeroom business. Sorry about the late notice, but today I’ll have you…”

The class leaned in, eager yet scared to hear his next words.  _ Is it another special test? _

“Decide on a class representative.”

The room burst into cheers, everyone relieved to finally be doing something normal. Then, once the words sunk in, they erupted into less-than-pleasant pleas for the position.

“Me! Pick me!

“I’ll be the leader!”

“I wanna do it!”

“My manifesto is that all girls’ skirts will be at least thirty centimeters above the knee!”

_ Wait, that kid sits right behind me? _ Izuku wondered, not having noticed it before. That put a slight damper on his mood, but he just dropped his head onto the desk, letting the world fade away. Katsuki would wake him up if something important happened.

* * *

 

“Oi, Izuku, wake up.”

The green-haired teen woke up slowly, shifting around a bit before picking his head up. He yawned, incredibly tempted to just fall back asleep, but Katsuki normally only woke him when classes started, so he kept his head up.

“Izuku, go up there.”

“Huh? Go up where?”

“Go to the podium, dipshit.”

Confused, but still in a state where he would listen without too much complaint, Izuku rose to his feet and stumbled over. He stopped behind the podium, leaning against it so he didn’t fall over or anything.

“Midoriya-kun, say something,” a familiar voice whispered to him. He blinked blearily, and looked in the general direction. He recognized that hair style, vaguely…

“Momo? What’re ya doin’ up here?”

“I’m the Vice-Representative.”

“Oh, really? Congratulations, you’ll probably do great.”

“Well, thank you, but I can’t exactly start yet if the Representative doesn’t have an agenda.”

“Who’s that, then? Kick their ass into gear for making you wait.”

“...MIdoriya-kun,  _ you’re _ the Class Representative.”

“What.”

“You’re the Class Representative. Address the class you will be representing.”

“What the fuck?”

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you paying attention?”

“No! I was sleeping! You should already  _ know  _ this, Momo! How did this happen!?”

“W-we had a vote, and more people picked you than anybody else. Look,” she said, pointing behind them to the blackboard. A list showed the names of nearly every student in the classroom, with a number next to their name. For most, it was one. However, for Momo and Izuku, it was three and four, respectively.

Izuku grimaced, before an idea popped into his head. He slapped a hand down on the podium, startling most of the class.

“Alright, I’ll take it. And now, using the power bestowed upon me, I hereby delegate my position to... Iida.  _ If anybody has an issue with that, we can take it outside _ ,” he finished, gripping the sides of the podium so hard that the wood audibly cracked.

Nobody spoke up for about five seconds, until…

“Mi-Midoriya-kun, you can’t just  _ do _ that!” Momo cried. She yelped and stepped back when Izuku’s head snapped to the side, his teeth bared ferally at her.

“Out. Side,” he ground out through gritted teeth.

“That’s-!” Momo protested, but shut her mouth when he straightened up, and she finally noticed he was nearly a head taller than her.

“ _ Now _ ,” he growled, and the girl obediently fled out the door, followed by the green-haired teen.

* * *

 

“Tell me, Momo;  _ why _ , exactly, do you think I shouldn’t give the Class Rep position to someone who can  _ actually do it? _ ”

“Y- you are also someone who can do it! You are a competent person, both in combat and out. Even though you may  _ seem _ like you don’t pay attention, you still give out the correct answers in class, and I’ve  _ seen _ your work. It is neat, precise, and well thought-out! In battle, you are nearly a completely different person; you can take charge, even if it seems like you would rather not, and you have the strength to protect those around you!”

Izuku dragged a hand across his face. “We must be seeing two different things, because  _ I _ am an exhausted, irresponsible little bastard who can barely take care of myself! Why  _ else _ do you think I’m always so tired!? Half the time, I don’t even know what’s going on, and the other half I’m too busy sleeping to care!  _ That _ is  _ not _ Class Rep material!”

Momo was silent for a moment, before her face lit up. “Most of your issues stem from fatigue, right?”

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the girl. “Yeah, so?” he asked cautiously.

“Then I’ll just give you coffee everyday!”

Izuku blinked slowly, then again. “Hah?”

“You said my coffee woke you up, right? So, I’ll just make you some everyday! That way, you’re awake enough to complete your duties as the Class Representative!”

“...Is this blackmail?”

“Well, not quite, but it  _ can  _ be. How about this? If you don’t accept the position, I’ll  _ never _ make coffee for you again- how’s  _ that _ for blackmail?”

“That’s… That pretty damned good…” Izuku muttered, twitching. He was so tempted to accept, but…

“What about what I told Iida? What if he doesn’t want to let me take back the position?”

“You probably didn’t hear, since you were asleep, but Aizawa-sensei said the person who got the position would be stuck with it until next year, when we choose another one.”

“So… I never really stood a chance, did I…?”

“Nope!”

“Oi, aren’t you too cheerful about that?”

* * *

 

“I still think you guys made a huge mistake,” Izuku said at the lunch table. He was sitting with Iida, Uraraka, Katsuki, and Momo. The rest of his class was scattered throughout the cafeteria- not that he really cared.

“I’m  _ telling _ you, Midoriya-kun; I believe you can do a good job of this, so long as you have some coffee in you. Besides, it’s not like the Class Representative has too many extra duties. There’s only some paperwork, assisting Aizawa-sensei during homeroom, organizing class events, keeping the class in order, and of course, representing us at council meetings!”

Izuku stared blankly at her. “Yeah, that sounds like a lot.”

“I find myself agreeing with Yaoyorozu-kun, Midoriya-kun. Even if you may not seem to be the most…  _ Academically inclined _ individual, you are still quite intelligent. And your actions during the Entrance Exam have made it clear to me that you have a true hero’s heart! It is an honor to be represented by you!” Iida says enthusiastically, chopping his arms.

“Yeah, yeah, Midori-kun! You’re super heroic!” Uraraka chimes in.

Izuku stares at her for a long moment, causing the round-faced girl to fidget awkwardly.

“W-what?”

“Who’s  _ Midori-kun _ ?” he asked disdainfully.

“Oh, that’s just a nickname Mina-chan came up with for you! She said it’s ‘cause your hair’s green!”

Izuku digested this, slowly raising his mug of coffee- courtesy of Momo, bless her soul- to his lips. “Maybe I should have a little  _ chat _ with her about doing unnecessary things…” he muttered, taking a sip of the sugary drink.

“Midoriya-kun,  _ no _ ,” Momo said sternly, glaring at him. He met her eyes straight on, letting her know that he would not be cowed.

“Midoriya,  _ yes _ . How is she gonna give me a nickname when we’ve never even had a proper conversation? She needs to learn some damned manners.”

“Violence is  _ not _ the answer!”

“Violence is  _ always _ the answer!”

Then the alarms started.

* * *

 

“I  _ told _ you Iida would be a better representative than me!”

“ _ One _ incident does not change everything, Midoriya-kun,” Momo replied, exasperated.

“It does when it’s the  _ only  _ incident- that means Iida is 100% more effective than me at being a leader. Henceforth, I should hand the position of Class Rep over to him!”

“Do you want to lose your coffee privileges?”

“...No.”

“Then stop trying to abdicate responsibility.”

“...One of these days...:”

* * *

 

“For today’s Foundational Hero Training, I’ll be assisting All MIght, along with one more person who we’ll meet up with at a separate location.”

“Excuse me!” Sero said, raising his hand, “What’ll we be doing?”

Aizawa held up a card, reading  _ RESCUE  _ in large blue letters, saying nothing.

The class broke into excited chatter, the more rambunctious students crying out with their fiery passion.

“Oi. I’m not done.”

And just like that, the flames were quenched,

“You can choose to wear your Hero Costume or not,” Aizawa continued, “Because some of you might have designs which limit your abilities outside of combat. Decide quickly, then meet me out in front of the building. The place we’re going is a few kilometers away, so we’ll be taking a bus. Don’t keep me waiting.”

* * *

 

“Class 1-A, gather round!” Iida cried, blowing into a whistle. “Form two lines by your student numbers in order to make the boarding of the bus go smoothly!”

Izuku rounded on Momo, mouth opened to complain about his continued role as Class Representative in the face of such competence, but received a smack to his face via paper fan for his troubles.

“Don’t,” she commanded, pointing the impromptu weapon at him. He growled, teeth bared, before opening his mouth again. This time, when Momo swung, he ripped the fan out of her hand with his teeth, grinding it between his pearly whites.

“Midoriya-kun!” she cried, Creating another fan. He had not been expecting it, and thus took the hit. His next growl was incredibly loud, attracting the attention of the rest of the class. 

Most of them watched in fascinated horror as Momo played a dangerous game, beating the strongest student in their class over the head with something as mundane as a folded-up piece of paper. Going by the increasingly more feral growls, and the way his eyes had gone white with apocalyptic rage, they feared for the Vice Representative’s life.

Finally, Izuku seemed to use his brain, and yanked his hands out of his pocket to grab Momo’s wrists. He pushed her slightly until her back was up against the bus’ exterior, hands pinned to the metal, and his height towering over her.

“Will. You.  _ Stop!? _ ” he snarled, leaning close enough that their foreheads bumped together.

Momo, despite the terror she was feeling, stayed strong. “ _ I’ll _ stop when  _ you _ stop!” she snapped back, sticking her tongue out at him petulantly.

Izuku was tempted to lean down just a little bit and bite her tongue clean off, but a cough resounded behind him, distracting him.

“Are you done?” Aizawa asked dryly, eyes barely regarding their existence. “If not, hurry up. We need to go soon.”

Eyes narrowed into slits, Izuku slowly let go of Momo, taking a step back. He was watching her, waiting to see if she would try anything, but she seemed a bit more concerned with rubbing at her wrists in irritation.

“Honestly, Midoriya-kun, I don’t understand why you are so against being Class Representative. It’s an honor, and many people would fight to be in your position.”

“If you don’t understand, then that just means you haven’t been paying attention to a thing I’ve said for the past few days.”

“I  _ have _ been listening, but it simply does not make sense to me.”

Izuku glanced around at their audience, then shook his head with an exhausted sigh. “Whatever. We’re not having this conversation now.”

Momo looked like she wanted to say something, but Izuku’s phone chose that moment to begin ringing. Looking confused, he pulled the device out of his pocket, glancing at the caller I.D. He stared at it for a second, before grimacing and turning away from the bus.

“I have to take this call,” he muttered, wandering a couple meters away. The rest of the class took this as a cue to load up onto the bus, though Momo lagged behind slightly. She gazed at Izuku’s back, wondering who could evoke such negative emotions in the young man with just their name. HIs tightly clenched fist did nothing to assuage her worries, nor did the steadily-sharpening, aimless glare.

* * *

 

On the bus, Momo was too busy staring at Izuku to pay attention to the conversation of her classmates. He was in the seat directly on her left, since it was the only one the other students left open. The seat itself was located in the front of the classic rows, on the right side of the bus, overlooking the open-floor seats.

Izuku was slumped against the backrest, arms crossed and chin pressing against his chest. Whoever had called him must’ve upset him incredibly so; even in his sleep, the green-haired teen’s eyebrows were furrowed in anger.

Momo was debating the merits of waking the boy up to ask about it, hand twitching to shake him, when his eyes opened of their own volition. Izuku shifted to sit up straight, his usual post-nap haze suspiciously absent.

“Midoriya-kun?” she asked softly, voice nearly drowned out by her rowdy peers. However, Izuku still seemed to hear her, since his pupils moved to side-eye her.

“Are you okay?” she asked, peering up at him.

Izuku’s gaze shifted so he was looking straight ahead now, staring out the front window of the bus. “I’m fine,” he replied, though the statement lacked any real conviction. His body language also did not match up with his words; he was tense, eyes sharp, obviously ready for something to happen.

She was about to call him out for his blatant lie, but her classmates decided to get the Class Reps involved in their conversation.

“Hey, Midoriya-kun, you want any chips?” Sato asked, holding up a cellophane bag. Izuku shook his head silently.

“Don’t worry about being rude, man. I’ve got more.”

Izuku shook his head again, with more vigor this time.

Katsuki scoffed. He was sitting down in one of the open-floor seats, fiddling with his phone. “Good luck getting that fucker to eat anything. I swear, it’s like he’s anorexic or something- he’s been over to my house nearly every day for, like, ten months, and not  _ once _ have I seen him ingest anything other than coffee and water. Even though he stayed over until evening, and he never ate anything at school.”

“Actually, come to think of it, I’ve never seen Midori-kun eat anything at lunchtime, either…” Uraraka said, a finger on her chin in wonder.

“Midoriya-kun, it is not healthy to regularly skip meals! As a hero-in-training, you will need all the stamina you can get to keep up with the rigorous curriculum of U.A!” Iida cried, making his normal hand gestures. “Is this why you are always sleeping!?”

“Yeah, something like that. I’m allergic to damn-near everything, so I just don’t eat.”

“Midoriya-kun, that is incredibly bad for your wellbeing!” Iida said loudly, voicing the thoughts of everyone else. “You should speak with the school’s cafeteria staff- surely they would be willing to accomodate you?”

“Trust me, Iida, trying to find something I can actually eat without throwing up ten minutes later is way too difficult. Besides, I can handle this much,” Izuku said, waving the concern off casually.

“When was the last time you ate a proper meal!?” Iida shouted, standing up as if ready to walk over and shove food down Izuku’s throat.

“Ah…” Izuku muttered, holding his chin in a hand thoughtfully. “Well, last time I ate  _ anything _ was… Three…? No, maybe four…”

“Four days!?”

“Four months.”

The entirety of the bus was shocked into silence at that admission. Iida was flailing like a fish out of water, and jaws everywhere were dropped.

“H-how are you still  _ alive _ ?” Jiro whispered fearfully.

“Don’t worry, I’ve still got at least another few weeks in me- I haven’t even started hallucinating yet!” Izuku said, tilting his nose up into the air pridefully.

“That-! That’s not funny, Midoriya-kun!” Momo shouted, grabbing onto his arm with desperation in her eyes.

“I wasn’t laughing,” he said flatly. “Anyways, I don’t understand what you guys are so scared of. My Quirk might make it hard for me to find food, but it also makes it so I hardly have to eat. I do this all the time, so trust me when I say this; I’m perfectly fine.”

“What… What happens when you  _ do _ start to get hungry?” Kirishima asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

“Hm? Oh, I just go insane until I get some food. Kinda sucks, but I don’t remember it, so it’s not really a big deal or anything.”

The bus was silent, everyone staring at Izuku in varying degrees of horror, for the remainder of the trip. Momo kept her hands wrapped her hands around his arm, as if reassuring herself that he wasn’t wasting away on the spot.

Finally, they reached their destination, and Aizawa stood up.

“Alright, we’re here. You can leave anything you don’t need in here, since we’ll be using the same bus to get back. And Midoriya.”

“Yeah?”

“When we get back to the main campus, you and me will be having a little chat about your eating habits.”

“‘Kay~.”

* * *

 

“Everyone, I’ve been waiting for you!”

“Oh! It’s the Space Hero, Thirteen! I love them!” Uraraka shouted excitedly. The tension from the discussion on the bus evaporated in the face of such a gentle hero. Thirteen’s vibe seemed to set the majority of the class at ease.

“Let’s go inside without delay! There’s a lot I have to tell you!”

* * *

 

“A shipwreck! A landslide! A fire! A windstorm! And  _ more! _ This is a training ground I’ve made to simulate many different types of accidents and disasters! It’s called, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!”

“So it really  _ is _ U.S.J!” Kirishima cried, forgetting that copyright laws existed.

“Thirteen, where’s All Might?” Aizawa asked, walking closer to the rescue hero to have a quiet conversation. A few words were exchanged, and Thirteen held up three fingers, which meant nothing to the students.

“...That’s the height of irrationality,” Aizawa said loudly, almost sounding as exhausted as Izuku normally looked. “Well, it can’t be helped. Shall we begin?”

“Ah, let’s see…” Thirteen began, “Before we start, let me say one...two, three, or four, or five, or six…”

The astronaut continued on in that vein for a few more seconds, much to the exasperation of the class, but Izuku had long since tuned it out. His instincts were screaming at him, the hair on his arms and neck rising. He began to feel twitchy, adrenaline being released into his body and amping him up to a ridiculous degree.

Looking around, something down in the center of the massive caught his eye. A black swirl, which was slowly growing larger. A hand poked out, followed by the rest of a body, then more bodies…

“Sensei!” Izuku cried, cutting off Thirteen. Aizawa snapped to attention, and looked to where the green-haired teen was pointing. His bloodshot eyes widened, and he grabbed onto his capture scarf with one hand. The lights flickered out, and the fountain in the plaza started to stutter.

“Everyone, get back! Thirteen, protect the students!”

“Sensei, is this part of the simulation!?” someone asked, their voice melding together with the cacophony of sound being produced by the students.

“No,” Aizawa said, even more serious than normal. HIs tired eyes were focused, his body tense and ready to move.

“Those… Are Villains!”

Panic ensued, several of the students freezing up at the mere notions, while others set their jaws in an attempt to stave off the fear. It was a losing battle, however, when they saw the sheer amount of people pouring out of the black fog. Within moments, the plaza was teeming with criminals, all looking bloodthirsty and ready for a fight.

Aizawa moved to the top of the stairs, quickly doing an estimate of how many bodies were standing down there.

_ Looks like at least forty or fifty… _

With a quiet curse, Aizawa bent at the knees, preparing to engage in combat. Somebody walked up next to him, however, disturbing his concentration.

“Midoriya, I said to get back.”

Izuku barely spared him a glance. “You might be able to take down a decently sized group of Villains, sensei, but you specialize in one-on-one fights and sneak attacks. Even for someone as experienced as you, this is too much.”

“And? You think you being there will even the odds?”

This time, Izuku turned to look him in his eyes, which he quickly covered with his goggles.

“Only one way to find out, right?” Much as Aizawa hated to admit it, the kid had a point. He was the most skilled in Class 1A, standing head and shoulders above the majority of his peers, with the possible exceptions of Bakugou and Todoroki.

“...Detention when we get back for ignoring my orders. Now, let’s go!”

* * *

 


	8. Chapter 8

Flying into a fight alongside a Pro Hero was a new experience, Izuku decided. And he wasn’t entirely against it. For one thing, it made it easier to approach the enemies, what with Eraserhead Erasing their long-distance Quirks. Once they hit the ground, the teen was also able to see just how skilled the man was, even if it was only for a second before other Villains rushed him.

In that second, however, Aizawa had already taken down seven Villains. The self-proclaimed Shooting Squad had their Quirks Erased, and in the confusion, Aizawa simultaneously captured the three with his scarf, pulling them towards him with strength his wiry frame should not have, and slamming their heads together. They were knocked unconscious on impact.

A man with four arms and rock-like skin ran at the scruffy teacher, expecting it to be an easy win for him- after all, how was a Mutation-type Quirk going to be Erased? He was in for a surprise when Aizawa weaved through his flurry of attacks, then slammed a fist into his face, sending the massive man flying. The capture scarf followed him, wrapping around his leg, then yanked the rock man down into a group of three other Villains, knocking all four of them out.

Now, Izuku had to focus on his own fight. A man with beefy arms and a broad chest was in front of him. Most likely a Strength Quirk of some sort. He was one of the unlucky ones, however, since he got strength without speed. As a result, he had been blown away with a single punch before he could even raise a fist.

Next came a short woman wearing boxing gloves, her pigtails stiffening into the shape of horns. She charged, head down to spear him, which was an idiotic thing to do- never take your eyes off the enemy. An axe-kick sent her face into the ground.

A thing, seemingly made of paper, and with many eyes on its body, came after. Their Quirk didn’t seem suited for combat, so Izuku lashed out with a roundhouse kick-

Oh? The paper momentarily disintegrated so his foot had just passed right through, then reformed immediately after. So, pseudo-intangibility, and the multiple eyes made it difficult to be caught by surprise. The result of a Quirk Fusion? Impressive, but annoying. However, it couldn’t activate its Quirk if it couldn’t react, so Izuku turned up the speed. The first five punches in his flurry of attacks simply passed through, but the low kick tripped the Villain, and a final punch to the face-eye knocked him out, blowing his head apart. Probably not fatal, but oh well.

Izuku breathed in deeper on his next inhale; it was dangerous to go at speeds like that right now. Like he’d said on the bus, he hadn’t eaten in the past four or so months, so he had to be careful with his energy. Go too fast, and he risked exhausting himself. Then again, if he went quicker, then he’d be able to take out more Villains, right? Well, it couldn’t hurt to speed up a  _ tiny _ bit.

The next five Villains went down in moments, joined on the ground by more of their comrades with every passing second.

Thirty seconds after Aizawa and Izuku had jumped into the fray, at least twenty Villains were unconscious, and the remaining criminals seemed weary to jump in now. That didn’t stop them, however. Pride was an impressive thing, making them believe that they could succeed where their allies had failed.

Some of his enemies were laughably weak. For example, a man whose Quirk only gave him two extra legs, so he looked sort of like a half-spider. It did nothing for his durability, and Izuku felt his skull crack with a backhand.

A woman with extendable fingers- there was a kid like that at his Junior High- had some nice dexterity. If Izuku had rushed her head on, he’d likely have gotten tangled up in the forest of digits, so he just jumped over it. A falling kick took her out of the fight before she registered her opponent was no longer in front of her.

More came, and more fell, until Izuku finally turned around and found nobody to hit. He spun once more and saw, to his minor shock, that the plaza was now littered with unconscious Villains. The only ones standing were in front of the fountain; a man made of mist, a man with blue hairs and a dismembered hand on his face, and a purple monster with a yellow beak, crazed eyes, and half its brain exposed to the air. Talk about weird.

Izuku jumped so that he was standing next to Aizawa, bending his knees so he was ready to move at any moment.

The blue-haired man began to speak. “I expected Eraserhead to be able to take care of all these NPCs, but… Who’re you, kid? Ah, I don’t care. Kurogiri, go do the thing to the rest of those runts. Leave this one here- he’s interesting.”

The black mist nodded, if the bobbing of his glowing yellow eyes was any indication. “Of course, Shigaraki Tomura. I will be back momentarily.” With that, the now-named Kurogiri vanished, while Shigaraki Tomura stared at them. At least, it looked that way, but it was hard to see his eyes behind his shaggy hair and hand mask.

“Man, you’re really cool, Eraserhead, to jump down into the middle of so many Villains like that. I know about your fighting style, how you specialise in ambush-and-capture techniques. Didn’t think you’d be able to handle a brawl like that, to be honest. I had hoped the fodder would be able to take you out, but I guess a Pro Hero really is a Pro.”

“So, you knew I’d be here?” Aizawa asked, tightening his grip on his capture scarf. His hair was down, so he wasn’t using his Quirk at the moment, probably trying to recover a bit from the fight just now.

“Of course. That’s why I gathered so many henchmen. I also knew about Thirteen, but I’m not worried; they won’t be able to take on Kurogiri. But… Where’s All Might?”

Aizawa stiffened, eyes widening under his goggles.

“The schedule I got said he’d be here,” Shigaraki continued, unknowing or uncaring of Eraserhead’s panic, “I went through all this trouble to gather all this fodder, and I even got special permission to bring out Nomu.” He gestured to the purple behemoth next to him, which had yet to make a noise, or any indication that it was aware of its surrounding. “So much work, just to kill All Might, and he’s not even here?” Shigaraki scoffed, annoyed.

“Question,” Izuku said, catching the Villain’s attention. Aizawa thought about saying something, but kept quiet in the hopes that Izuku would at least be able to get  _ something _ useful from Shigaraki. The man would probably underestimate a student dressed like a bum, and be much more willing to spill information. “From the way you’re talking, are you trying to say that…  _ Nomu _ , over there, can kill All Might-sensei?”

“That’s exactly it, kid. Aren’t you  _ smart _ ?” Shigaraki said patronizingly. “It’s what he was made for, after all.”

Made for?

“Well, All Might’s not here, but… Maybe killing a few of his colleagues and students will draw him out? Nomu, grab Eraserhead.”

Then purple beast tensed, at the same time as Izuku and Aizawa, but then exploded into a blur. Suddenly, AIzawa was gone from Izuku’s side, and the teen was left staring at the empty space in shock.

_ I-! I barely saw it move! That’s-! _

Izuku remembered, for a brief second, that day almost a year ago. The first time he met his muscular teacher, underneath the bridge. His strength, to blow apart that slime monster without laying a finger on it, his speed, to be able to nearly escape Izuku’s eyes…

_ No doubt about it- this thing can match All Might! _

* * *

 

Momo didn’t know what to do, staring at Midoriya-kun’s back as he stood next to Aizawa-sensei. And then they leapt down the stairs, to engage in battle with the Villains. This was not a combat exercise- this was a true fight, and every second, they faced death! She was also worried about the looks of that purple monster, but Ashido snapped her out of it by grabbing her shoulder.

“Come on, Yaomomo! Thirteen-sensei said we need to follow him!”

The Space Hero was running at the front of the class, leading them towards the doors to exit the U.S.J. Halfway there, however, an inky black hole appeared on the floor a few meters in front of them. From it spewed an equally-black haze, with two yellow, glowing eyes. Truthfully, they scared Momo. It was almost like something from a horror movie, with only those pinpricks of light appearing in the darkness- a sure sign that something was out there, and it did not come peacefully.

“Nice to meet you,” a rich, suave voice uttered from the shadows. “We, are the League of Villains. It may be a bit presumptuous, to have invited ourselves into the home of the heroes, U.A High School, to have the Symbol of Peace, All Might, take his last breath. Although, I believe he would have to be here in order for us to do that. So… Where is All Might?”

Momo tensed up, along with everyone else in the class. However, she was not preparing for a fight. Instead, her muscles had seized up in fear, eyes quivering, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. Her muscles contracted tighter, painfully, when the darkness spread like a cloak.

“Well, that is neither here nor there.  _ This  _ is the part I am to play.”

“Ahhh!” Bakugou shouted, as he rushed at the Villain, alongside Kirishima. A massive explosion kicked up a cloud of dust, blocking Momo’s sight. She covered her face, relying on her ears to try and figure out what was happening now.

“Did you consider that you’d get beaten by us before you did it!?” Kirishima shouted confidently.

All was silent, for a long moment. Then, the chuckling started, and Momo’s terror somehow increased.

“Oh dear, that’s  _ dangerous _ ,” the shadow said mockingly. “That’s right. Even if you  _ are _ students, you are also excellent golden eggs.”

“Move aside, you two!” Thirteen shouted, a cap on his finger popping off in preparation to use his Quirk, Black Hole.

“My job is to scatter you all, and torture you to death,” the Villain stated ominously, his murky form suddenly expanding. It shifted and swirled, covering them in a dome of darkness.

“Now…  _ Disappear!” _

* * *

 

Suddenly, Momo was falling. She heard screaming, but wasn’t sure if it was her. Wait, it couldn’t be her, since her jaw was still locked shut in fear. So then, who…?

Something latched around her stomach, and her head snapped snapped down so fast she heard the vertebrate in her neck pop. The thing latched onto her was purple, and the glimpses of white and yellow confirmed her fears; Minoru Mineta was currently tightly pressed up against her.

She managed to fight down the wave of revulsion- just barely- to try and get her bearings. Now that she wasn’t near that Villain, she was able to think a bit more clearly. So, they were high up in the air, falling towards the rocky ground of a canyon. A sheer rock face towered over them, even this high in the air. Going by that observation, this was probably the Mountain Zone, though that wouldn’t matter if they hit the ground at terminal velocity.

What could she do…? Anything she could Create that would cushion their fall would take too long, since it would need a lot of padding. In the time it would take them to reach the ground, she would only have gotten a single layer…

Wait, single layer?  _ Parachutes _ were only single layers. Well, not industrial ones, but a makeshift parachute only needed a sheet of cloth, which is what Momo slowly pushed out of her hand. She couldn’t use her stomach, with its large surface area, since Minoru was latched onto it like a particularly disgusting baby monkey.

Holding the two ends, she braced herself for the cloth to snap open, and was not disappointed. It hurt, and it felt like her shoulders were going to be wrenched out of their sockets, but she held on, and they floated down to the floor. Once they touched down, she maneuvered the cloth so that it didn’t fall on them. She did not want to be trapped under a sheet with this pervert. Speaking of which…

“Minoru, get off me,” she commanded coldly. Momo felt the boy tense up, and sighed in relief when he let go.

“W-what do we do, Yaoyorozu-san!? Those were _real_ _Villains_! And they want to kill _All Might!_ ”

“Right now… I think we have other things to worry about.”

Indeed, so caught up had she been in her repulsion from being in close proximity with Minoru that she somehow failed to notice the thugs surrounding them. There were a variety of Quirks on display, most of them being Mutations that created sharp protrusions or bulging muscles. However, there seemed to be a few without such obvious tells, and they worried Yaoyorozu the most. Emitter-type Quirks were incredibly varied, and tended to be useful for medium or long-range attacks.

For now though, she could only do something about the men rushing at her, violence in their eyes. Thankfully, that seemed to be the  _ only _ thing she could see. If they were anything like the boy next to her, Momo might not make it out of this alive…

Pulling a bo staff from her now-free stomach, she gripped it in both hands, settling into a combat stance. This was going to be rough.

* * *

 

“Sensei!” Izuku shouted, leaping at the monster. He slammed a kick into its face with all his strength… And it didn’t budge. Not even a blink (then again, the thing didn’t have eyelids), or a twitch, Instead, it remained focused on the man underneath it, grabbing his arm. With its immense strength, there was no resistance when Nomu twisted Aizawa’s limb far outside of its range of motion, resulting in a dull snapping as the bone broke, and a muted groan from Aizawa.

“Nomu, don’t hurt him too much. I want All Might to see when we kill him. Oh, and get that kid away from you,” Shigaraki said absentmindedly, gesturing at the green-haired teen raining blows on the monster’s head and exposed brain. Somehow, the pink organ was as durable as the purple skin, and didn’t quiver a bit.

With a screech, Nomu punched Izuku in the stomach, folding him over its large fist. The next moment, the boy was shooting across the plaza, slamming into the stairs with earth-shaking force, digging an imprint into the white stone that was at least five feet deep.

Shigaraki sighed. “When will you learn? If the first punch doesn’t work, then why would the rest? Honestly… Well, I guess I can’t blame him. NPCs only know how to attack, even if it’s useless.”

The sound of stone bouncing off stone caught Shigaraki’s attention, and he looked over to where the green-haired teen had been buried. To his immense surprise, the kid was working his way out of the crater with some difficulty. Though, that was just because of the odd shape, causing him to hunch over to get out.

“Oh? You’re alive? Interesting…” Shigaraki muttered. He waited until Izuku was out of the hole, and standing on his feet before he decided what to do. “Nomu, break one of Eraserhead’s legs so he can’t move, then go after the kid.”

The purple beast complied, snapping the bone like a twig, then exploded at Izuku, once more caching the teen in the stomach with a punch. This time, however, Izuku grabbed onto the huge arm. Digging his fingers in, he managed to hold on, though coughed up nearly a liter of blood onto the monster for his troubles.

“Damn… That  _ hurts _ ,” Izuku muttered, grimacing through crimson-stained teeth. A punch to the side of the head made him relinquish his grasp, sending him flying once more. He landed on the ground next to a large body of water, limbs spread haphazardly.

“Midoriya-chan!?” a throaty voice cried. Izuku propped himself up with his elbows, spitting more blood out to the side. Turning, he found Asui staring at him in horror.

“Hey, Asui,” he said casually, climbing all the way to his feet. Looking behind her, he saw a few bodies floating in the water, and the ship in the Flood Zone had been sunk. “How’re you holding up?”

“I think you should be more worried about yourself, kero! What happened!?”

“Ran into a bit of trouble. I’ll live. Probably.”

And with that, Izuku sprinted back to the plaza, leaving behind an unresponsive frog girl.

_ Alright, that thing is  _ really _ fast. But, that’s only in straight lines, probably. With all that bulk, it probably isn’t very flexible, so there’s gotta be some places it can’t reach from certain positions. I just need to be a bit more creative with my dodging, think in three dimensions rather than two. Otherwise, I’ll definitely die. Should I…? No, not yet. I’m starving. If I try that now, I’ll go wild, and I might hurt Sensei. That’s a last resort. Speaking of which, I need to get Sensei out of there, but I can’t do anything while that Nomu thing is on my ass like white on rice. Oh, wait! _

Izuku turned back around, making a beeline for the Flood Zone.

“Hey, Asui, I need your help. Aizawa-sensei is in the plaza, and he’s really injured, but I can’t help him yet. I need you to come and get him out of there.”

Asui snapped out of her shock, shaking her head. “Alright, Midoriya-chan. I’ll do my best.”

He turned back to the plaza once more, this time with his classmate hopping alongside him. He had to slow down a bit, but not very much. Asui had some pretty powerful leaps. In moments, they were back in the center of the U.S.J. The Nomu was standing in the same place as before, and Shigaraki’s head was turned to them.

“Oh, you came back! And you brought a friend!” the Villain cried, seemingly happy.

Izuku stepped in front of Asui, who had begun to quiver slightly at catching the blue-haired man’s attention.

“Don’t worry. I don’t care about her, and I’ve lost interest in Eraserhead. Besides, with Kurogiri watching, they won’t get far, so I don’t have to worry about anyone trying to leave the Boss Room. This is one of those hardcore games where it locks, which is bad for you, but good for me. Anyways, I’m more interested in  _ you _ , kid. Nomu was engineered to have the same strength as All Might in his prime- which is a lot- and the fact that you’ve taken three of those punches, and are walking around like it’s nothing… Well, you’ve caught my attention. What’s your Quirk?”

Izuku was silent, unsure if he should answer. FInally, he decided to play along for a little bit. He motioned for Asui to go fetch their downed teacher before responding. “It’s just a general enhancement Quirk.”

“Really?” Shigaraki asked, intrigued. “Those are usually pretty good- I think All Might has one, but it’s  _ really  _ powerful. Are you, by chance, All Might’s son or something?”

“Um… No?”

“Damn, I was hoping you were. It’d probably hurt a lot more than the death of one of his students or fellow teachers. Don’t you think you’re durability and strength are kind of… Disproportionate, though?”

“...What are you talking about?”

“Well, it’s just that you can take hits like that, even if you go flying, but you can hardly even make Nomu move, like, a millimeter. Although, I guess that’s not really your fault, since one of his Quirks is Shock Absorption.”

“Wait,  _ one _ of his Quirks!?”

Behind his hand mask, Shigaraki blinked. “Oops, did I say that out loud? Ah, whatever, doesn’t really matter now. Anyways, yeah, this dude has more than one Quirk. Besides Shock Absorption, he has a Regeneration Quirk, and a couple strength enhancers. It’s kinda crazy, that he needed  _ multiple _ strength Quirks to match All Might, but the most important thing is that he can. Honestly, between all that, you’d have an easier time flaying all the skin off him than beating him in an actual fight, but that’s only if he lets you. He gets a bit…  _ Fussy _ , when something hurts him.”

“You know, for a Villain, you talk a lot,” Izuku said, head spinning from the information dump. So brute force wouldn’t work, but sharp things might have a chance…

“Yeah, I guess I do. Doesn’t really matter, though, since you won’t be leaving here alive. Nomu.”

The monster shrieked loudly, bursting into motion. It covered the distance between itself and Izuku, a good thirty or so meters, in a split-second. However, the green-haired teen had been watching it the whole time, so he was ready this time. His eyes, which had been honed by years of intense combat, worked overtime to observe and catalog the movement of every single one of Nomu’s muscles, using that information to predict where it would strike. A left straight-!

_ I dodged it! _ Izuku thought excitedly, but he beat the feeling to death in an instant. Pride would become arrogance, and that would make him sloppy. However, he also couldn’t be meek, lacking confidence, since then he would doubt himself and overcompensate when it was completely unnecessary. He had the knowledge that he could do this, the belief that it was possible, and well within his capabilities. Now, all that was left, was to actually do it.

The initial strike was followed by a right uppercut, which Izuku dodged by leaning back, then ducking underneath the left jab. Izuku jumped out of range of a hook, swerved past a hammer arm, then swayed back to dodge the returning uppercut of that same arm. He was lucky the beast didn’t seem to have mental capability to use its legs for anything other than movements.

It was a game of cat and mouse, both with the way it was being played, and the consequences. If the mouse was caught by the cat, then the mouse would likely be killed. The mouse had no obvious physical advantages against the cat; it was tiny, weak, and with the little legs, it definitely couldn’t outrun it. However, it could pass through the cat’s leg with its small size, though the very notion was so suicidal that the instincts which the mouse survived by prevented such ideas from even existing.

Now, though, the mouse had to find a way to defeat the cat. And didn’t that just seem impossible?

For now, all he could do was distract the monster while Asui got Aizawa out of there. He took a risk by leaning harder on his dodges, trying to see around Nomu as he dodged the barrage of blows. It seemed like the two were no longer behind the artificial monster, but that didn’t mean anything. They could just be out of his direct line-of-sight, but still close enough to be in danger.

Taking a gamble, he grabbed the Nomu’s left arm the next time it came around, using it as leverage to throw himself into the air so he could have a brief reprieve to gather information about the situation. Head swiveling rapidly, his sharp eyes took in the scene.

Asui had Aizawa on her back, the man holding on with his one good arm, while she made strong leaps up the stairs, to the entrance of the U.S.J. The Flood Zone was empty, since Asui was the only one there. The Downpour and Conflagration Zones had domes over them, preventing him from seeing inside. In the Ruins Zone, explosions rocked one of the buildings, a sure sign that Katsuki was there and fighting strong. Ice covered the Landslide Zone, indicating Todoroki’s presence. The Mountain Zone was littered with unconscious bodies, though the students that caused it didn’t seem to be there anymore. Where were they?

Oh. Apparently, it was Momo and Mineta, since they were approaching the plaza from that direction… And Shigaraki Tomura was rushing straight at them!

Izuku finally landed on the ground, the back of his eyes throbbing from being pushed to their limits- that would probably develop into a hellish headache later. He dodged a few more random swings from the Nomu, then grabbed its arm again. This time, he used it to swing himself under the monster, through the large gap between its legs. Once behind it, he hopped up and used the purple monster as a springboard. He noticed that this caused the monster to stumble, and a plan began to formulate in his mind.

_ It has Shock Absorption, so any impacts made against it won’t work, but that was about the only thing it had a resistance to, since All Might only used his fists. However, that doesn’t mean it’s unmovable. The only thing discouraging people from trying is its massive size and bulging muscles, which make it both heavy and intimidating. Even then, I’m strong enough! I don’t have to just keep dodging now, but I still don’t have any reliable way to beat it… That’s for later! _

Izuku made impact with Shigaraki’s back, and stood on him while the Villain skidded across the floor, coming to a stop right in front of Momo and Mineta. The two were gaping at him, surprised that he would do something as insane as Villain-surfing

“Hey,” he said casually, grinning at Momo. She opened her mouth to say something, but a shriek from behind him cut her off. She froze, jaw slack and eyes wide, as a purple blur barreled towards them.

Izuku leaned sideways, causing the Nomu’s punch to just barely pass over his shoulder, before he spun around, grabbing the muscled log with both arms, then pulling the monster over his back. With a growl of exertion, Izuku slammed the Nomu back-first onto the ground next to Shigaraki, knocking the man away with concussive force. Instead of letting go, he yanked on the arm once more, spinning the Nomu around so its beak was kissing the dust.

Maintaining his grip, he leaped onto the experiment’s back, grabbing its other arm in his free hand, wrenching them back into a position where it didn’t have the leverage to use its insane strength.

The monster struggled, shrieking and groaning horrifically, its strength causing Izuku’s muscles to bulge. Still, he held on. He was idly reminded of that one scene from that old hero movie, back when Quirks weren’t a thing. The hero had been a massive green rage monster, and found itself in a similar position as Izuku. The difference was, he was trying to choke his enemy to death, while Izuku was focused more on containment.

“It’s no good…”

Izuku’s head snapped away from Nomu, though he kept his grip strong. Shigaraki was slowly rising, his face buried in his hands.

“It’s no good… It’s no good…”

Shigaraki was wandering in Momo’s direction, only one hand on his face now, while the other blindly groped the air. He passed by the stunned students, and fell to his knees behind them.

“I-I’m sorry, Father!” he cried, voice shaking. He reverently picked something up, slowly fixing it back on his face, and that’s when Izuku realized he had knocked Shigaraki’s hand mask off.

_ He calls it Father? Now that I think about it, those hands  _ do _ look pretty real, if emaciated… Is that actually his father’s hand? _

Once the mask was securely in place, Shigaraki heaved a huge sigh of relief, shoulders slumping. Then, the man spun around, and Izuku saw his red eyes for the first time. The wild rage in them made Momo gasp and Mineta shriek, the two stumbling backwards.

“You hurt Father...” he mumbled, taking a step towards the students. “You hurt Father…”

Shigaraki began walking towards them, taking slow, staggered steps, repeating himself with every footfall. Izuku didn’t know what to do. He had no clue what Shigaraki’s Quirk was, so he was a complete wildcard. He also didn’t know if Momo would be able to fight against it, and Mineta looked like he was going to pass out any second. He couldn’t let go of the Nomu, though. If he did, it would probably kill them all.

“Momo, get back!” he shouted. The girl glanced back at him, and that’s when things began to go wrong.

Shigaraki’s attention was also grabbed by the scream, and he snapped out of his trance. Howling, he sprinted at Momo with impressive speed, his strides kicking up dust, hands outstretched. His yell seemed to alarm the Nomu, because it began struggling more intensely before.

“Get away from him!” he shouted at the girl. She listened this time, turning to run, but she was far too slow. By the time her back was to the Villain, he was only about a meter away, ready to grab her at any moment.

Grimacing, Izuku did what he had to. He let go of the Nomu’s arm, and slammed into Shigaraki an instant later with a dropkick. The blue-haired men went flying, while the Nomu leapt to its feet, shrieking.

Momo cried out in shock, falling on her rear when the purple monster was suddenly towering over her, since she was the closest person.

It drew its arm back for a swing, but was stopped by Izuku climbing onto its back. And then, the green-haired teen did something which would haunt Momo’s nightmares for a long time to come.

Izuku opened his jaws wide, teeth slick with saliva and shining in the light, then took a massive bite out of the Nomu’s neck.

* * *

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

It felt like sandpaper going down his throat, scraping up his esophagus, with little wooden splinters that grinded against his teeth, causing shivers to rack his spine. The juices were as thick as sludge, akin to oil, or that Slime Villain from a year ago. The smell reminded him of that beach on the edge of the city, piled high with all sorts of trash, made worse by the sea breeze. As for the taste… That was better left unsaid.

A slight pain emerged in his lower back as the skin ripped open, and suddenly he found that his arms were free. It made eating a little easier.

_ So… Damned… Hungry... _

* * *

 

Did Midoriya-kun always have pitch-black sclera? Were his irises always crimson red? Were the four tentacles protruding from his back, holding down the Villain’s limbs, normal?

...Did he always eat human flesh?

Momo’s mind was racing with questions, but the majority of her brain had shut down due to the horror of the scene before her. She knew, in that instant, that she would be haunted by this. For how long, she had no clue, but Momo idly theorised that  _ the rest of her life _ was a pretty good answer.

The Nomu was screeching in pain, thrashing desperately in an attempt to escape, but the deep-red, pulsing appendages attached to Midoriya-kun’s back were wrapped tightly around its wrists and ankles, preventing it from moving an inch.

Meanwhile, Midoriya-kun himself was tearing into the beast, jaws stained with black blood, the same black blood that was pooling on the ground, slowly creeping its way over to her. She ignored that, however, in favor of watching the green-haired teen. It was slightly fascinating, in a disgusting way, how he ate; he bit and bit and bit, but never seemed to stop to chew, no matter how much he tore off the purple Villain. It was almost like he swallowed the chunks of meat, the size of her fist, whole.

Another interesting thing, was how he could rip away at the same general area, without going deeper into the Nomu’s chest cavity. It seemed to be regenerating just as fast, if not faster, than Midoriya-kun was eating.

Still, Momo could not ignore how disturbing this was. She was still sprawled out on the ground, staring on as Midoriya-kun ate for the first time in- apparently- four months. Maybe that was why he appeared so ravenous.

Nearby, she vaguely heard the blue-haired Villain shouting, “Kurogiri, we have to go!”

Somewhere else, she hear the sounds of somebody throwing up. Probably Mineta, since he was the only one close enough to see this. Momo was slightly surprised she wasn’t throwing up, herself. Then again, that was probably because most of what she ate went into her energy storages, to be used by her Quirk.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Midoriya-kun stopped biting into the monster. It had stopped moving a long time ago, seemingly falling unconscious from the pain. He raised his head of green hair, eyes shifting back to white and emerald. The extra appendages were withdrawn, and he shook his head, as if snapping out of a daze.

The teen shakily crawled off the Nomu, head turning to reorient himself. Finally, he noticed her, on the ground, locked in place. He walked over, and reached a hand down.

_ So much blood _ .

* * *

 

_ Ah. She flinched. _

At first, Izuku couldn’t understand what was going on. Momo was shying away from him, shivering in fear. Why, though? The Villains were all either gone or unconscious- even the Nomu, the most dangerous thing in the entire event. Why was she still scared? Did she maybe not recognize him for some reason, and hadn’t realized he wasn’t a Villain?

Momo looked up at him, eyes locking onto his own, shivering like a leaf in a tornado. He went to reach down again, but she flinched once more.

_ Oh _ .

She had looked him in the eyes. She  _ knew _ who he was. It was  _ because _ of him that she was acting this way.

_ She’s scared of me. _

Izuku looked down. He was covered in black blood, the horrendous taste of it still in his mouth. He glanced at the Nomu, which was lying in a puddle of the stuff.

_ She’s disgusted by me _ .

Momo refused to look at him, eyes clenched shut.

_ She knows I’m a monster _ .

That realization jarred him, and he almost fell backwards. He managed to steady himself, somehow. His outstretched hand dropped back to his side, and he turned around, stumbling toward the broken stairs. Asui had gone this way with Aizawa-sensei, right? Maybe he’d go check up on them. They wouldn’t be scared of him… Right?

_ They just haven’t realized what I am. Yet. _

* * *

 

The main entrance of the U.S.J exploded inwards, the doors ripped clear off their hinges. All Might burst in an instant later, coming to a stop at the top of the stairs.

“I AM HERE!” Toshinori shouted, hoping to set his students at ease. Even if he himself was angry, even if his perpetual smile had evaporated once he’d heard the news from Iida-shounen, he had a duty to comfort these children in a time of need.

Unfortunately, it seemed he was too late. The crisis was over, the Villains defeated, and…

“Midoriya-shounen!?” Toshinori cried, staring at the boy staggering up the stairs. His eyes were blank, unseeing. His face was covered in a shiny black liquid, which also drenched his white, slightly ripped t-shirt. He looked as if he was wandering aimlessly.

Toshinori rushed down the steps, coming to a stop next to the boy, and putting his hands on his student’s shoulders.

“Midoriya-shounen! What happened!?” he asked, shaking him slightly. The young man looked up at him, eyes still dead.

“Oh. All MIght-sensei. You’re here,” he muttered quietly. Then, the boy collapsed.

* * *

 

Izuku woke up to a stark-white ceiling. He was in a bed, the sheets pulled halfway up his chest. He blinked blearily, slowly rising into a sitting position. Observing the rest of his surroundings, he figured he was in a hospital, or maybe U.A’s infirmary. They probably had the money to make their Nurse’s office identical to a well-equipped hospital.

An I.V was stuck into his arm, which was promptly ripped out, along with all the heartbeat sensors and other monitors. Izuku was slightly surprised they had managed to stick a needle in him, but U.A definitely had access to materials hard enough to do that.

Izuku climbed to his feet, then noticed his state of dress. He was shirtless, but still wearing the sweatpants of his Hero Costume. So, definitely not the hospital, or he would’ve been wearing one of those stupid gowns.

His phone was on the nightstand beside his bed, so he pocketed it, and exited the infirmary. Said device began ringing moments later, so he pulled it back out with a sigh. Caller I.D identified this obnoxious person as  _ Renji _ . Okay, so maybe not  _ so _ annoying, but still a pain in the ass this soon after waking up.

“What’s up, Renji?”

_ “Izuku, I heard what happened at U.A yesterday. Are you alright?”  _ Renji asked in his flat tone.

“Yeah… What do you mean, yesterday? Did I really sleep that long…?” Izuku checked the time, finding that it was Saturday afternoon. The attack had taken place Friday afternoon.

“What the hell…?”

_ “Yeah, that’s what we were wondering. We tried calling once we heard the news, but you didn’t pick up. Anyways, come down to Anteiku when you get the chance. We need to talk.” _ Renji hung up without another word, and Izuku sighed.

“Bastard. Didn’t even get to ask about Hinami-chan... Now, how do I get outta here?”

* * *

 

Walking around with no clue where he was didn’t seem like a good idea at the time, but now that he’d ran into All Might, it was a horrible one.

“O-oh. Hey, sensei,” Izuku said, trying to go for a casual approach, despite his lack of a shirt.

All Might dropped the small stack of papers he was carrying, then power-walked at him.

“Midoriya-shounen! What are you doing? You should be resting in the infirmary!”

“I’m fine, seriously. More importantly, how the heck do I get out of here? I’ve been walking around for the past ten minutes, and I don’t know where I am.”

“Unfortunately, young man, I will have to lead you back to the infirmary for now so that Recovery Girl can assess your health. Only then will you be allowed to leave.”

“I literally  _ just _ said I’m fine.”

“Yes, but considering the state you were in when I found you yesterday, your reassurances have a bit less weight than you would like. Come, Midoriya-shounen, and perhaps you can tell me what happened down in the plaza. Yaoyorozu-shoujo and Minoru-shounen did not have much information to offer, though they claimed you were the one to ask.”

* * *

 

“That is… Most disturbing, young man. You are  _ sure _ they said that the Nomu was engineered to kill me?” All Might asked warily.

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. And even if they didn’t say anything, it was kinda obvious. The thing hit like a train, and definitely ran faster than one.” The teen rubbed at his stomach, the phantom pain of being punched by the monster resurfacing.

“You were  _ hit _ by it!?” All Might shouted, leaping to his feet in shock.

“Yeah, a few times. Don’t worry, I’m stronger than I look.”

All Might appraised him with a keen eye. “Yes, I can see that,” the Pro Hero muttered, dropping back into his seat. It creaked dangerously, but managed to hold together.

“Anyways, are we done?” Izuku asked the old lady next to him. “I’ve gotta be somewhere.”

“I suppose we are,” Recovery GIrl said. “It’s odd, though. You say were hit by something with the strength of this blond buffoon,” she gestured at All Might, who hunched his shoulders in embarrassment, “And yet, by the time we got you to the infirmary, there were no visible signs of damage, external  _ or _ internal.”

“Oh, right. My Quirk is listed as a General Enhancement Quirk, because it enhances more than my strength and speed. It also helps my durability, and I have an insane regeneration factor.”

Recovery Girl nodded, satisfied with the answer. “Well, I suppose that’s good.  _ However _ !” she suddenly shouted, brandishing her cane in front of the teen’s face. “Don’t think that just because you can heal fast means you can take hits whenever you want. One day, you’ll get hit by something that regeneration can’t save you from- it’s what happens to nearly every Hero with a similar Quirk. Be careful.”

“Right, right. So, you said school’s canceled on Monday, right?” Izuku asked the Symbol of Peace, rising to his feet. The man nodded, also standing up.

“Good. See you on Tuesday, Sensei.”

* * *

 

Train rides on the weekend were peaceful, despite the loud rumbling of the heavy cars on the tracks, and the screeches when the conductor hit the brakes. It wasn’t packed full of people going to school or work, so there were plenty of seats. He could have even laid down and taken a nap, if he wasn’t so scared of missing his stop. He still would have liked to lay down, though.

Unfortunately, with Shigaraki Tomura sitting right next to him, that didn’t seem to be a possibility.

“What’re you doin’ here, Shigaraki?” Izuku asked tiredly, glaring balefully at the Villain.

“Same thing as you, I’d guess; going somewhere by train.”

“Can’t Kurogiri just Warp you there?”

“Nah. His Quirk works based on coordinates, so if he doesn’t know where the place is, he can’t go to it. Plus, it’s nice to take the train sometimes.”

Izuku sighed, and they descended into silence.

“What, not even gonna threaten to call the cops on me?” Shigaraki asked, sounding amused.

“No.”

The Villain blinked, not expecting such a blunt response. “Well,  _ you’re _ no fun.” Was he pouting?

* * *

 

Why did they get off at the same stop? Why were they strolling in the same direction?  _ Why was Shigaraki Tomura walking into Anteiku? _

“Oi.” Izuku finally broke the silence, which had lasted for past half-hour. Shigaraki paused in the doorway, glancing back.

“Oh? Finally got something to say?”

“Yeah. What the  _ fuck _ are you doing here?”

“Same thing as you, I’d guess; going to meet someone.” The smug bastard was smirking.

Izuku grabbed the man by the front of his hoodie, balling the fabric up in his fist. He dragged the Villain away from the door, and slammed him against the wall next to it.

“Don’t fuck with me, Shigaraki,” the teen growled, “You  _ saw  _ what I did to that Nomu thing- you think I won’t do it to you!?”

“Oh, I’m scared!” Shigaraki cried, hands up in mock-surrender. Izuku’s eyes turned black with rage.

“Ahem. If you two gentlemen would please  _ refrain _ from being violent outside of my shop, that would be appreciated.”

Izuku dropped Shigaraki, turning to the old man that spoke.

“Kuzen,” he greeted coldly, eyes still in their kakugan mode.

“Still with that name, Izuku-kun?” he asked, smiling genially. Izuku said nothing, just slipping past him into the café. The old man turned to Shigaraki.

“Tomura-kun, she is waiting for you upstairs.”

“Thanks, Yoshimura-san.”

* * *

 

“What’d you call me for, Renji?”

“Did anybody find you out?”

Izuku’s silence was telling.

“Call your mom and arrange-”

“No.”

Renji’s eyes narrowed at the boy, a silent demand to explain himself.

“I like U.A. I don’t wanna leave.”

Renji set down the glass he was polishing, staring at Izuku the whole time. “Kid, you realize they’ll kill you, right?”

“No, they won’t. It’s not like  _ everybody _ knows, only two other kids.”

“And you think they won’t tell anyone?”

Izuku remembered Momo’s fear of him, and Mineta… Well, that kid would probably say anything to get attention, which includes revealing Izuku’s secrets.

“...No. But!” he cried, cutting Renji off. “But, even if they  _ do _ tell everyone, they won’t try to hunt me or anything. U.A is really tolerant, and I’ve been passing this stuff off as my Quirk- they know that some Quirks are nasty, so they’ll think mine is just nastier.”

Renji stared at him for a long moment, before finally picking up another glass. “Fine. When everything goes to hell-”

“Don’t come crying to you. Yeah, I get it. Besides, I don’t even do that anymore!”

“Right. You just go crying to your mom, instead.”

“Rude.”

“But true.”

Izuku pouted.

* * *

 

The funeral was on Monday. Only the usuals at Anteiku attended, along with Izuku. He stood between Hinami and Touka, staring as an empty casket was lowered into the ground. The former was sobbing silently, while Touka’s fists were clenched tight enough to draw blood, her kakugan burning in her eye sockets.

In a corner of Izuku’s mind, he was impressed that they had managed to set this up so quickly, even if there so few people. Then again, they didn’t really have to pay anyone, or jump through legal hoops, so that probably sped the process up a fair bit.

Fueguchi Asaki had been killed on Friday morning, his corpse devoured down to the bones.

Oomori Yakumo would pay in blood.

* * *

 

Tuesday, Izuku was subdued. He didn’t fall asleep during the day, only resting his head on the desk as he shuffled through his thoughts. He didn’t speak to Momo, since the girl would lower her eyes every time he looked in her direction. He hadn’t even attempted to get the promised coffee. Katsuki seemed angrier than normal, so he also didn’t poke that ticking time bomb.

Uraraka was still shaken up over the U.S.J incident, along with Iida and the rest of the class. Even Kirishima’s fiery spirit and Aoyama’s glittering sparkles were downtrodden. Mineta didn’t show up to classes that day.

As such, Izuku said less than ten words after homeroom. As Class Representative, he had to take care of that period, since Aizawa couldn’t move properly due to his leg injury. Izuku explained the upcoming Sports Festival, which was well-received, as well as informed the class of where they could go if they wished for extra training after school. Like always, the Quirk Counselors were available, even if nobody really went to them.

During Foundational Hero Training, All Might took them to one of U.A’s incredibly well-equipped gyms. Izuku spent the two hours continuously bench pressing increasingly heavy weights, starting at five-hundred kilos, and adding five every ten minutes. By the end, he had added sixty more kilograms, for a total of five-sixty, much to the awe of the class. He completely abused his regeneration, which was faster than normal since he’d recently eaten. Between every rep, his muscle fibers repaired themselves, slightly stronger than before, allowing him to quickly build up muscle.

For the rest of the week, along with the next, he would keep up this intense regime, but using a different machine every day, continuing long after classes had ended. He would only leave when it was time for the last train stop of the day, since he didn’t particularly feel like walking home. At his level, it was more a nuisance than exercise.

* * *

 

Wednesday. English had ended, and Present Mic just left the room. The students were making idle chatter as they packed their bags, ready to head to the cafeteria. Izuku, who began packing a bit before the bell rang, was already at the door. He was planning on going to the gym again, to squeeze in every bit of training he could get. His technique was still heads and shoulders above everyone in the First Year, so he didn’t have to worry about that, but some extra strength probably couldn’t hurt. Today was squats, starting with one-thousand kilos, since the combination of his legs and back was stronger than just his arms.

Of course, that was only if he could  _ get _ to the gym, considering the swarm of people blocking the door of Class 1A.

“What…?” Izuku muttered, but the shock of the situation had rendered the majority of people on both sides mute, so everyone heard. Someone shoved their way to the front of the crowd; a purple-haired boy, a little bit shorter than Izuku, and with impressive bags under his eyes. Izuku’s own bags had faded- now that he’d gotten something to eat, he was able to sleep without hunger pains.

“I came to see what the famous Class 1A is like. I’m Shinsou Hitoshi; nice to meet ya.”

Izuku loosely shook the boy’s hand. “Midoriya Izuku. Likewise. What’re you talking about, famous?”

Shinsou raised an eyebrow at him. “Weren’t you there on Friday? I’m talking about the Villains at the U.S.J.”

Izuku’s eyes narrowed slightly, that this boy was making that mess sound so casual. “Let’s not talk about. Anyways, I need you guys to move a bit. I gotta go to the gym and get in some reps before lunch ends.”

Thankfully, the crowd parted, even if they  _ did _ close behind him when he was gone. Oh well. He might be Class Representative, but that didn’t mean he had to hold their hands. 1A could handle this one themselves. The weights were waiting for him.

* * *

 


	10. Chapter 10

Izuku was sitting in a folding chair, feet propped up on a table in the waiting room for the members of Class 1A. Today was the day of the Sports Festival, and everybody looked nervous. Well, except for Izuku, who was rattling off text messages on his phone.  _ Fuckin’ Jason thinks he could hide, huh? _

“Midoriya.”

Izuku glanced up, then went back to his phone. “Todoroki. What do you want?”

The students, who had been silent, easily heard the exchange, and glanced over. They could feel tension radiating from the two.

“Looking at things objectively, I think I’m stronger than you. I’m going to beat you.”

“I’ll kill you, prick.”

The class was shocked by the casual declaration, and the way Izuku hadn’t even paused in his typing. Todoroki took a step back. As the person closest to the green-haired teen, only he could feel the aura emanating from him; one that promised unrestrained violence.

_ “Class 1A, report to the stadium,” _ a voice on the loudspeaker droned. Everyone was still frozen in their seats- or where they stood, in Todoroki’s case- so Izuku was the only one to move. He swung his legs off the table, rising to his feet and stretching a bit. He moved to the door, stopping when he was next to the heterochromatic boy to stare down at him.

“If you try and threaten me again, I’ll snap your neck. Don’t overestimate yourself.”

* * *

 

“ _ HEY! _ Pay attention, audience!  _ Swarm _ , mass media! This year’s high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the  _ U.A Sports Festival _ , is about to begin! Everybody! Are! You!  _ READY!?  _ It’s time for the First Years students to enter the stage!

Class 1A led the charge, with Katsuki at the front, swaggering as if he owned the place, customary angry-smug grin on his face. Izuku trailed at the back, taking slow, measured strides. His classmates were only a few steps in front of him, but his mind was lightyears away.

“The huge battle where fledgling Heroes sharpen their swords once a year! And  _ these _ are the participants! The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! HEROICS COURSE, CLASS 1A!”

“They haven’t been getting as much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! HEROICS COURSE, CLASS 1B!”

“Next up, General Studies Classes C, D, and E!”

“Support Course, Classes F, G, and H!”

“And finally, Business Course, Classes I, J, and K!”

_ Isn’t he a bit too obvious with his bias? _

* * *

 

“Time for the player pledge!” Midnight shouted, voice amplified by the mic headset she was wearing. She was holding her whip-thing up in the air like a kinky torch.

_ Why is the R-Rated Heroine the umpire for the First Years? _

“Quiet, people! Representing the students is Midoriya Izuku, from Class 1A!”

Izuku’s eyes widened.  _ I wasn’t told about this… Dammit, what do I say? _

The green-haired teen took his time getting to the stage, formulating his speech in his head, mind moving a thousand meters a second. Finally, he just decided to say fuck it and wing it. This was Aizawa-sensei’s fault for not telling him, right? He had a scapegoat!

Izuku tapped on the microphone once he reached it, causing a metallic shriek to echo through the stadium, much to everyone’s chagrin.  _ Always wanted to do that _ .

“Before I begin, I just want to say that Aizawa-sensei never told me about this, so sorry if my speech isn’t that great. Actually, why  _ am  _ I the one doing this?” Izuku turned to Midnight.

“Oh, because you scored the highest in the Entrance Exam, of course!”

“...RIght. I still don’t know how many points I got. I should probably find that out at some point…” Izuku muttered, the mic picking up every word, much to the amusement of the audience.

“Anyways, Mom, if you’re watching, hi, I love you. Dad, if  _ you’re _ watching, fuck you, go die in a ditch. Now, to business,” Izuku said, ignoring the scandalized gasps in the crowd. “As most of you know, here at U.A High School, we have a motto; Plus Ultra. Go Beyond. I don’t think many of you know what that actually means. To Go Beyond is to throw away all your fears, all your doubts- throw away everything that isn’t the here and now. Put your all into this moment, and if that isn’t enough, then put in some more. We, as students, are here to learn to embody that belief. And yet, some of us think that we can pass as a Hero by half-assing it.”

The crowd went dead-silent, even the idle chatter dying down. Things had just taken a turn for the serious. Izuku also took a turn, spinning around and crouching to better be able to look into the eyes of his classmates. Specifically, one heterochromatic teen, who thought issuing a declaration of war would be some good fun.

“I’m here to say, that if you wanna try and do the bare minimum, and still expect to win, you may as well drop out; both from the Sports Festival, and U.A. And if you don’t, that’s fine-  _ I’ll just make you pay for wasting my time _ .”

* * *

 

“Let’s get started right away!” Midnight said into the microphone. “The first game is what you’d call a qualifier! Every year, many students drink their tears here! And that fateful first game  _ is _ … an OBSTACLE RACE!

“All eleven classes will participate in this race! The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium- about four kilometers! Our school’s selling point is freedom- as such, so long as you stay on the course, it doesn’t matter what you do! Now, take your places, everyone!”

* * *

 

Standing in front of the red gate, watching the green lights slowly fade, Izuku couldn’t help but feel excited. He hadn’t actually run at a dead sprint for a while- it’d be good to get that blood flowing again.

The first obstacle seemed to be right in front of the gate; an incredibly narrow corridor, with the obvious intention of bottlenecking the students. Of course, that only really applied to the students stuck on the ground. With his incredible leg strength, he could just bounce off the walls, even if they cracked.

When the third green bulb went dark, that was exactly what he did. His first leap carried him well over three-quarters of the competition, and the two bounces saw him in first place, the only person who had passed through the tunnel at this point. He slammed into the ground, not even stumbling as he began pumping his legs to their limit.

All that weight training definitely helped; he was able to push himself incredibly far with each stride, widening the distance between himself and the other students every moment.

The robots were a bit of a surprise, but all they really did was scare the living shit out of Izuku when he accidentally barreled into one at full speed, ripping straight through it with sheer momentum. He shook his hands a bit, since there was a lot of electrical current in those things, but got back into the rhythm in moments.

Oh, wait. That was only one of the small ones. The  _ real  _ challenge was probably the zero-pointers right in front of him. Of course, since he just ran around their feet, it wasn’t actually a problem. He felt a bit bad for people who were slower than him, since even  _ he _ had almost gotten hit. For robots, those things sure were fast.

A few hundred meters later, he heard the faint sound of explosions, but ignored them. Probably Katsuki, pissed off at being left in the dust. Oh well.

The second- or rather,  _ third  _ obstacle came up soon. A massive canyon, with the only stepping stones being islands of stone. It wasn’t actually that bad, considering the distance between each pillar was only about twenty meters. It was an easy jump, and Izuku only lost of few seconds due to being in the air, and thus inevitable slowing down slightly since he wasn’t constantly pushing himself forward. He managed, though, and got through the third obstacle in a minute.

A couple hundred more meters, and he noticed something…  _ Strange _ , about the ground. There were lumps, that didn’t exactly look natural. It was almost like something was buried there. Curious, and knowing that he was incredibly far ahead due to his speed, Izuku took a chance and stepped on one of the mounds.

After  a good two seconds, the mound opened up with concussive force, knocking Izuku back a few steps. The air in front of him was filled with a rapidly-dissipating cloud of smoke, and his foot felt a little numb. Luckily, his shoes were intact, if a bit dirty.

_Mines, huh? There’s a trigger delay, though. I can definitely make_ _it!_

With that, Izuku bent his knees slightly, taking a few deep breaths. When the smoke finally cleared, he exploded into motion, feet pounding the ground and leaving craters with every step. Mines he wasn’t even near began to explode, due to how much he was shaking the dirt they were buried in. Izuku ignored it though, ignored the detonations trailing him, the black haze which threatened to swallow him whole.

He ran, and he ran until the ground stop shaking, and the world went quiet save for his footfalls and heavy breathing. He ran, until he reached the narrow corridor of the stadium, passing through it in moments, then shooting past the red gate which acted as the finish line.

“And the first person back in the stadium, blowing away the competition, is that man-  _ MIDORIYA IZUKU!” _

* * *

 

“The next game is… The CAVALRY BATTLE! The forty-two students who made it past the Obstacle Course will each be given point values, starting with five for forty-second place, then increasing by five for every place above that. Until you reach first place, of course, which has been assigned a whopping  _ TEN MILLION POINTS!” _

Izuku could feel every set of eyes in the stadium turn on him like lasers, attempting to burn a hole in him. Slightly worrying, however, was how nearly all of the students were giving off a hostile aura. That didn’t bode well for the second match.

“Now, the rules!” Midnight called, getting the attention back on her. “Each team must be made of one rider, and at least one horse, with a maximum of four members! The teams will have a total point value, which is simply the sum of the points of each member! The riders will wear a headband with that number on their forehead. It doesn’t specifically need to be on the forehead, but anywhere below the neck will get you disqualified! Teams will spend fifteen minutes trying to grab headbands from other teams, as well as protecting their own points! And finally, most importantly, you’re only done when the timer runs out! Even if you get your headband taken, or if the rider falls off, there’s still a chance for you to win! So don’t give up! Now, pick your teams!”

* * *

 

“Hey, wanna team up?”

Izuku turned to face the speaker.

“Considering the fact that everybody else is already teamed up, and we’re the only two left? May as well. I’m Midoriya Izuku.”

“I think everyone knows who you are,  _ Mr. First Place _ . Tokage Setsuna, at your service!”

* * *

 

“So, your Quirk allows to split up your body parts and fly around with them?”

“Yup. They can stay separated for up to five minutes, before I have to regrow them.”

“Could you just make your head or something float really high so we don’t have to do anything?”

“Well, I guess, but that’s not really fun.”

“Does that matter?”

“Yes! I wanna be able to look back at my first Sports Festival, and say  _ Man, that really was great _ , ya know?”

“...I think I got stuck with someone really troublesome.”

“Aw, don’t be like that!”

“START!”

“Green bean squad,  _ go _ !” Setsuna shouted. She was sitting on Izuku’s shoulders, her thighs wrapped around his head, and he couldn’t really deny that it felt kinda nice.

“Go  _ where _ ?”

“Uh…” Setsuna mumbled, not really expecting him to call her out on that. “Oh, look, Monoma’s over there! Let’s go say hi!”

“Wait, who?”

“The blond kid with the superiority complex!”

“...Why was I able to identify him based on that?”

“I dunno. Anyways,  _ go _ !”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Izuku jogged over, making sure to give the other teams a large berth. It’d be a pain if they started chasing after him. Luckily, they seemed content to leave him alone for now, but that just meant they’d all rush him in one big horde at the end.

“Monoma!” Setsuna shouted, waving wildly at the blond.

“Ah, Tokage-san! I see you managed to rope one of those dogs from 1A into giving you the win, eh?”

And then he was on the ground, courtesy of Izuku leaping at him with a kick, Setsuna still on his shoulders.

“Setsuna, I don’t like this kid.”

“Ah, that’s fine. I don’t think a lot of people do. Anyways, that was fun! Let’s do it again!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

* * *

 

The Cavalry Battle was laughably easy. Izuku ran around drop-kicking people at Setsuna’s command, and whenever they tried to retaliate, he would use his superior speed to dodge everything. Or, if they went for the headband, Setsuna would just detach her head and send it into the stratosphere. It was quite entertaining.

He had been right, though. When there were two minutes left, everybody began gunning for him, Todoroki being the most notable. He kicked and jumped and sprinted all over the place, evading a good number of captures. Anything that slipped by him was easily dodged by Setsuna who, once again, just sent her head way up high. Only a few people could have gotten her head at that height, but anything they tried would be too slow, so Setsuna just dodged it.

“Man, you make a really good horse! And your hair’s  _ super _ soft!” Setsuna cried, still on his shoulders after the game was over, and running her fingers through his green locks. “Maybe I should  _ ride you again _ , hm?”

“Sure,” Izuku said, not really paying attention. He had his phone out, sifting through the numerous texts he had gotten during the game.

“Jeez, Izu-kun, you’re supposed to get all flustered…” Setsuna whined, crossing her arms on Izuku’s head, leaning against it. “But man, you’re really strong, aren’t you? You managed to run around with me on your shoulders this entire time like it was nothing.”

“I’ve lifted heavier things,” Izuku muttered, squinting at an image someone had sent him. It was a picture of a man in a white suit, now stained red with liters of blood. This was a man had been battered, beaten, broken. A man who had been tortured to insanity. It was a good thing Setsuna wasn’t trying to look at his phone.

_ Man, even though Irimi-san supposedly mellowed out over the years, she can still be pretty sadistic when gathering info! Still, this is good. That bastard Oomori’s running out of hiding places... _

“You’re supposed to say that I hardly weigh anything, ya big dope!” Setsuna said, reaching down and pulling on his cheek.

“You hardly weigh anything.”

“Not so flatly!”

“Sorry.”

* * *

 

Setsuna was sitting across from Izuku at the lunch table, the boy still fiddling with his phone, while she was digging into a plate of curry.

“Hey, Izu-kun, what’s so important that you’ve been staring at your phone for the past half-hour? You one of those people who can’t stay off social media?”

Izuku blinked, looking up for a second. “No, something big’s going down with my…  _ Friends _ , and I’m trying to stay updated. You can talk if you want, I’m still listening.”

Setsuna apparently decided to ignore that particular statement.

“Pay attention to me~!” she whined, sliding her plate aside to put her head down on the table, faking sobs.

“You’re so loud…” Izuku muttered, reaching over and patting her own green locks.

“Ooh, that feels nice…” Setsuna purred. “You’re so  _ skilled _ with your hands, Izu-kun~.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I have to make a call.”

* * *

 

“Ayato, I heard from Irimi-san that you might have a clue where Oomori is.”

_ “Hah? The hell’re ya talkin’ about? Why the fuck would I care where that sadistic bastard is?” _

“I didn’t say you had to care. I just want to know what you know.”

_ “I’ve got no fuckin’ idea. I dunno what the hell Irimi’s tellin’ ya, but it’s wrong. Don’t call me back with this bullshit, got it, kid?” _

The call ended before Izuku could respond.

He dialed another number, waiting a few seconds for the recipient to pick up.

“Irimi-san? I think you might be right about Ayato…”

* * *

 

_ So, the last round’s a tournament, huh? Sounds like fun… Hope I get to fight Katsuki. It’s been a while, I wanna see how much he’s improved. Oh, there’s the first round matchups. _

* * *

 

Round 1:

Midoriya Izuku vs. Shinsou Hitoshi

Todoroki Shouto vs. Sero Hanta

Kaminari Denki vs. Tokage Setsuna

Iida Tenya vs. Tsuburaba Kosei

Aoyama Yuga vs. Ashido Mina

Monoma Neito vs. Yaoyorozu Momo

Kirishima Eijirou vs. Bakugou Katsuki

Kaibara Sen vs. Kuroiro Shihai

* * *

 

_ Ooh, Katsuki’s facing Kirishima. That’s something to look forward to. Looks like I’m up first, against that Shinsou kid from a little while ago. Wonder how he fights…? _

* * *

 

“The finals that you’ve all been waiting for are starting! Match number one! He’s stayed at the top from the moment we started! From the Heroics Course, it’s Midoriya Izuku, versus…! Sorry, he hasn’t done anything notable yet. It’s Shinsou Hitoshi, from the General Studies Course! The rules are simple; force your opponent out of bounds, or immobilize them! You can also win by making your opponent surrender! We’ve got Recovery Girl on the sidelines, so bring on the injuries! Obviously, anything life-threatening is not allowed, so try to be a little bit careful! Cementoss will be there to stop things if they go too far!”

“ _ I give up _ , huh?” Shinsou asked. Izuku blinked in confusion. Was the boy talking to him?

“This is a fight to test the strength of your spirit, right? If you know what you want for your future, then appearances shouldn’t matter.

“READY!?” Present Mic shouted

“That monkey was going on about his pride-”

“START!”

“But don’t you think he was dumb for throwing away this chance?”

Izuku shrugged, not really caring. If Ojiro wanted to be honorable, then let him. Though, what Shinsou had said struck a chord in Izuku.

_ If I know what I want, then I shouldn’t care about appearances? Actually, what  _ do _ I want? Do I want to be a Hero? I’d say yes, considering I’m in U.A, but that’s more because my abilities carried me this far, not a dream or anything. I only applied to U.A because I thought All Might was really cool… Why’d I ask him that back then? Did I secretly want to be a Hero? Maybe I still do, I don’t really know… Didn’t I want to be one when I was a kid? To help as many people as possible? Well, that was probably before I had to worry about helping myself. Now, though… Now that I  _ can _ help myself, sort of, does that mean I can focus more on helping others? Looks like I’m coming full circle now… _

“Hey, Shinsou.”

The purple-haired boy narrowed his eyes at Izuku.

“What?”

“Do you think a monster can become a Hero?”

Shinsou’s eyes were wide open now, and his back almost straightened up in shock, though he forced it to remain slumped. Izuku’s opponent eyed him silently for a long while.

“Didn’t I just say it? If you want it, then appearances don’t matter. It doesn’t matter if the whole world thinks you’re a monster, once you know you can do it.”

Izuku took a moment to process the words, running them around his mind a few times. He smiled softly at the other boy.

“Thanks.”

Then his body seized up. Shinsou was smiling like a creep.

“Sorry that I have to do it this way, but I still want to win. Now, turn around, and walk out of bounds.”

Izuku was going to scoff, but he found himself doing exactly as Shinsou ordered. He whirled around, then began to take slow, measured steps towards the white line. His mind and body were separated, and though he was screaming inside, he couldn’t stop. Sweat was building up from the fruitless attempts, and he silently sighed in aggravation.

_ I should want to hurt him for this, but… I think I’ll just settle for winning. _

The muscles in his lower back began to shift, roiling underneath the skin uncomfortably, before they finally burst through the skin, tearing apart his tracksuit. Since he was out of practice with his kagune, the sudden emergence caused him a pinprick of pain- and suddenly, he could control himself.

_ So, pain breaks the mind control, huh? Although, how exactly was I able to use my kagune? Maybe it doesn’t account for things other than what’s found in a normal human body, so it’s not as effective against Mutation-type Quirks. Then again, why was Ojiro so easily affected if that’s the case? There’s something I’m missing… Whatever. _

Izuku spun on his feet, shooting at his opponent like a bullet. Instinctively, Shinsou stepped back, but by the time his foot made contact with the ground, the green-haired teen was in front of him, grabbing him by the front of his jacket. Not letting go, Izuku rushed towards the white line behind Shinsou, pushing him then entire way, until Shinsou had crossed it.

“Shinsou Hitoshi is out of bounds! Midoriya Izuku is the winner!”

The purple-haired teen brushed at the front of his tracksuit when Izuku finally let go.

“Hey, Shinsou!”

“...What?” Shinsou asked, annoyed that the green-haired teen was so cheerful.

“I’m gonna be a hero.”

* * *

 

**About the new tournament lineup. In canon, Team Izu was Izuku, Hatsume, Uraraka, and Tokoyami. This team Izuku was only Izuku and Setsuna, leaving two slots open at the end. Then, when Ojiro and that other kid from Shinsou’s team dropped out, that left a total of four slots open for the next round. So, I just went and chose a random full team, which was Monoma, Kuroiro, Kaibara, and Tsuburaba.**


	11. Chapter 11

Shinsou Hitoshi was not very used to people smiling at him- other than his parents, of course. People smiled in his general vicinity, but not because of him. Never because of him.

He hated his Quirk. Brainwashing, the ability to enslave people at any point in a conversation- it was a Villain’s Quirk, and enough people had said so to him that he thought the same. And he couldn’t fault them for his isolation; after all, he wouldn’t talk to someone who could force him to do  _ anything _ either, regardless of the fact that he didn’t know this person. After all, in this society, Quirks were everything.

It’s why he wanted to be a Hero. He wanted to prove that, even with a Villain’s Quirk, he could help people, could save people. With every passing day, it was getting harder to believe that.

He expected U.A to be different. After all, surely they’d dealt with people who had scary Quirks before, right? Gang Orca was a U.A alumni, and he was on the list for Top Ten Most Villainous-Looking Heroes. The teachers were tolerant, and that was all fine and dandy, but the students…

They hated him. There was no other way to put- they  _ hated _ him. Hated his purple hair. Hated his  _ creepy _ smile. Hated the way he towered over many of them. Hated the bags under his eyes, his slightly wrinkled clothes, his voice, his silence… His Quirk. It was because of his Quirk.

Things had looked fine on the first day. Even if the Entrance Exam was a bust because it was suited for flashy Quirks, he had still passed the written portion, and being admitted to U.A was nothing to scoff at. The first day, they attended the opening ceremony and orientation, which Class 1A was suspiciously absent from. They weren’t important at the moment, though.

After learning a bit about the school, they had lunch in the pristine cafeteria, run by Lunch Rush, whose food was simply exquisite. Nothing on his mom’s cooking, but it was still damned good. After lunch, they met up in Class 1C, and finally met their homeroom teacher, then did icebreakers to get to know the other kids.

When Shinsou went up, he knew it would end poorly. He told them his name, the proper spelling, his hobbies, likes and dislikes, and finally, his Quirk.

The way their faces wrinkled in distaste and disgust hurt. He should have been used to it-  _ was _ used to it- but nonetheless, it hurt. To know that they would never care about Shinsou Hitoshi, but a simple genetic mutation… It hurt  _ so much _ . He’d never admit it, even under torture, but he had cried that night at the loss of yet another group of potential acquaintances (he’d long since given up on making friends).

His school days were quiet, simply doing what he was assigned and nothing more. He didn’t bother trying to get the Class Representative position, even abstained from the vote since neither candidate seemed particularly competent to him. Not like he would’ve done much better, but at least he had something more than  _ let’s all get along, ‘kay? _

How that girl won, he’d never know. Perhaps because she had a nice body, or a cute face, and a bit more than half the class happened to be males? Whatever, it wasn’t his problem.

He put his all into classes, getting better grades than the rest of those people who just wanted to flirt with each other, play on their phones while the teachers were talking, or just generally goof off. It seemed like those who failed the Practical Exam had lost the will to excel. Sometimes, it was because they thought they were too good for the General Studies Course, and their bare minimum was more than enough. Others were angry with the U.A judges, and had the bright idea they could get back at them by flunking out of their classes.  _ Sure, have fun only hurting yourselves. _

With the oppressive superiority of the Heroics Course right down the hall, General Studies was not a fun place.

Still, Shinsou had a plan. He’d heard tell, mostly from older students teasing others about failing to do so, that it was possible to move from General Studies into Heroics. The only stipulation? You had to do well in the Sports Festival, which tended to better-suit people with Quirks that increased their physical capabilities. This once more lowered Shinsou’s chances of succeeding, but he persevered. And now, here he was…

Facing off against the strongest student in 1A. During the Obstacle Course, he’d borne witness to Midoriya Izuku’s explosive power from atop his mind-controlled horses, courtesy of the screens floating alongside the track. He had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that it was an impressive showing.

_ Still, no skin off my neck. Just get him under my control, and there’ll be nobody around to break him out of it. _

Midoriya’s question had thrown him a bit, but it was a bit of a windfall that the green-haired teen was starting the conversation himself. Unbeknownst to the Hero-in-training, he was engineering his own loss. When Midoriya had expressed his gratitude, it was in direct response to Shinsou’s pseudo-encouraging words. It had been a simple matter to activate his Quirk, and ensnare his opponent. A quick command would have him walking out of the arena, allowing Shinsou to progress to the next round and do the exact same thing to his opponents until he won, proving that he deserved a place in the illustrious Heroics Course.

That had been the plan, but… Somehow, Midoriya had used a previously-unseen aspect of his Quirk to free himself, much to Shinsou’s confusion.

_ My Quirk fully controls my target, including their ability to use their Quirk! So how the hell-!? _

And then he was out of bounds. Midoriya was standing over him, smiling as bright as the sun itself.

_ “I’m gonna become a Hero,” huh? _

With a tentative smile, Shinsou grasped the hand held out to him.

“Yeah. Me too.”

* * *

 

“So, what’s your Quirk?” Izuku asked Shinsou as they walked through the halls of the stadium.

The purple-haired boy scratched at his cheek, seemingly hesitant. “...It’s Brainwashing.”

“Well, yeah, I know  _ that _ much, considering you used it on me, but what’s it called?”

“...Brainwashing.” Shinsou was turned slightly away from him.

“...You’re not very creative, are you?” Izuku asked flatly, and Shinsou hunched his shoulders a bit.

“Listen, I named it when I was four! It was either that or Mind Control, but Brainwashing sounded cooler at the time!” Oh, it seemed that the emotionless boy  _ could  _ get flustered.

“Why not get it changed?”

Shinsou sighed, regaining his composure. “It doesn’t really matter now. Plus, it just…  _ Feels right _ , you know? It’s be weird if I changed it, after so long of knowing it as Brainwashing.”

Izuku tilted his head this way and that, rolling the idea around in his skull. “Yeah, I see what you mean. It’s familiar, and people are most comfortable around familiar things. Guess it makes sense. After all, you don’t see people getting their Quirk’s name changed very often after the fact- normally only if they discover if the name isn’t actually fitting.”

“Right. Something like that.”

“Well, how does it work?”

“It’s… I can activate it on people whenever they verbally respond to something I said.” Shinsou was bracing himself for the inevitable scowl, though hiding it behind a thick mask of apathy.

“So… You’re telling me I almost fucked myself over?” The green-haired teen’s eyebrows were furrowed, but it seemed more in curiosity than anger.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Damn… Well, lucky that your Quirk isn’t very effective against me, or things would’ve ended poorly.”

“I… Guess? I’ve been meaning to ask; what’s up with that? My Quirk works on a person’s entire body, including their ability to activate their Quirk.”

Izuku glanced around, seeing a few people in the general area. “Let’s go somewhere else. I don’t really want anybody overhearing this.”

* * *

The two tall teens found themselves standing at the end of the hallway leading outside, the entryway guarded by Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and Mount Lady so the media didn’t sneak in. They were out of earshot, though, so long as they didn’t shout.

“Alright, so I kinda owe it to you to tell you the truth- or most of it, at least. I noticed you were tense when we talked about your Quirk, so it was probably a little difficult to tell me that stuff. Thanks for trusting me.”

“Well, it’s more like, you experienced my Quirk firsthand, but still talked to me after. I should be thanking you, if anything…” Shinsou mumbled, rubbing at the back of his purple afro-thing.

“What? Why?”

“People… People tend to stay away from me once they hear what my Quirk is. I guess they don’t trust me to not just randomly control them, or something…”

“Well, that’s kinda dumb.”

“Yeah, but that’ just how they are. I’ve gotten used to just blocking it out, so it’s not really that bad anymore.”

Izuku could tell that wasn’t the end of it, but he didn’t feel like prying.

“The thing about my Quirk is… It’s not actually mine.”

“ _ WHAT!?” _

The three Pro Heroes looked at them, but turned away once they recognized the jumpsuits. Thankfully, they refrained from commenting.

“Wanna shout a little louder?” Izuku asked, crossing his arms in irritation.

“S-sorry, it’s just..  _ What? _ ”

“Alright, shut up for now. I don’t feel like taking too long, since I wanna go watch some of the matches.” Shinsou nodded in acquiescence. “When I was younger, I had a bit of an…  _ Accident. _ I was wandering around at a construction sight, when a bunch of steel beams fell on me.”

Shinsou opened his mouth to shout, but Izuku’s raised arm silenced him, and the green-haired boy continued.

“My mom has a lot of connections, some of which are kinda shady. One of those shady connections happened to be a doctor, who did an illegal organ transplant. It was illegal because it came from one of his prisoners, who he was experimenting on.”

Shinsou turned vaguely green, but he managed to stay his tongue.

“This prisoner had the same abilities that I do now; the increased strength, speed, durability, and the kagune- those tentacle things you saw earlier. The kicker, though, was that her regeneration- which I also got- was off the charts, so losing an organ or two wouldn’t hinder her in any way, since she’d just grow it back. So, they decided, why not implant something in me other than what’s necessary?”

At this point, the purple-haired teen couldn’t stay quiet. “What the hell kind of people does your mom know!?”

“Crazy ones. That extra organ was called the kakuhou, which stores RC Cells. That’s the stuff my kagune are made of, and it also makes my eyes do this.” With a thought, Izuku activated his kakugan, entrancing Shinsou.

“Woah…” he muttered, taking a step forward to get a closer look. “I  _ thought _ I saw something different about your eyes during the match, but I was a bit too busy getting dragged around…” He sounded slightly off-put.

Izuku released the RC Cells creating the effect, allowing them to flow back into his kakuhou.

“Yeah, so that’s basically my Quirk. Not  _ all _ of it, but you don’t really need to know the grittier bits.”

“... I don’t think I really  _ want _ to,” Shinsou said quietly, seemingly awestruck.

“Great! Now, let’s get back to the arena. I wanna see Setsuna’s match.”

“Wait! What’s your Quirk’s name?” Shinsou asked, causing Izuku to sigh.

“Promise not to laugh?”

“Absolutely not. You laughed at me.”

“No, I didn’t. I was just judging you.

“Big difference. Now, spill.”

“... It’s called Ghoul.”

* * *

 

Apparently, Setsuna’s match was being postponed while the tournament staff was clearing out the massive glacier Todoroki planted there. All that, for  _ Sero _ ? Izuku didn’t think the tape kid was bad, not by any means, but he definitely wasn’t a big enough threat to warrant  _ that _ . Honestly, all it was doing was exhausting Todoroki. Though, it was gonna be awhile before their match, so it didn’t really matter.

Setsuna was taking it pretty hard, if the crocodile tears in her eyes were any indication.

“ _ Izuku~ _ !” she whined, “I don’t  _ wanna _ wait!”

“...Why are you telling  _ me _ ?”

“I don’t  _ know~ _ ! I just wanna  _ complain~ _ !”

Not sure what else to do, he began to pat the rambunctious girl on the head. “There, there?” It seemed to work, because she stopped crying, instead nuzzling his hand in contentment.  _ Man, she’s kinda weird… _

“Yo, Izuku, the fuck’re these extras?”

“Katsuki, stop calling people you don’t know extras.”

“Then gimme their names so I can call them something else, dumbass!”

“Urgh... This is Tokage Setsuna, and the insomniac next to her is Shinsou Hitoshi.”

“Nice to meet ya!” Setsuna cried, straightening up toss a fist in the air before crawling back under Izuku’s fingers.

“Same,” Shinsou said, giving a little wave. He didn’t seem particularly happy with the blond’s attitude, but didn’t say anything.

Katsuki sat down on Izuku’s left, his right occupied by the lizard-human. Apparently, she’s part cat, too, since she just started purring.

“Worried about your fight with Kirishima?” Izuku asked his first friend.

“Shitty Hair? Hell no!? I’m gonna beat him into the ground!”

“Even though he has a Hardening Quirk?”

“That just means I gotta hit him harder!”

“Somehow, I expected something like that…”

“Hah!? The fuck did you say!? Wanna die!?”

_ “Will the participants of the third match please report to the waiting rooms.” _

“Oh! That’s me!” Setsuna shouted excitedly, leaping to her feet. “Wish me luck!”

“No.”

“So mean, Izu-kun!”

* * *

 

Kaminari was kind of an idiot. He was always complaining about how he didn’t understand something in class, hardly put in any effort to fix it, then cried about his low test grades. It was irritating.

What made it worse was the boy’s Quirk usage. He  _ should _ be a close-range fighter. His Quirk coated him in enough electricity to deliver nasty shocks, and with a metal weapon in hand, he could become a real menace. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to understand that, and instead continued to fire off uncontrollable lightning bolts which fried his brain, leaving him unable to fight.

RIght off the bat, Setsuna split her arms up into four pieces each, sending them at Kaminari to mess with him. He didn’t have much physical strength, so they easily knocked him around. Within second, the boy got angry, activating his Quirk to cloak him in electricity. However, Kaminari then displayed his dumbassery by trying to shock the pieces of Setsuna floating around. Sure, he got them, but his actual opponent was standing outside of his range, and therefore was unscathed, while Kaminari had put himself out of commision.

Setsuna’s arms regrew, and she calmly walked over, herding the brain-dead blond out of the ring. Midnight announced her as the winner, and she disappeared into the stadium hallways. A med-bot had to lead the stupefied Kaminari to Recovery Girl.

“What the fuck was that!?” Katsuki shouted, pissed at the lack of action. He had to wait so long for his match, so he should at least have  _ some _ entertainment.

“I’ve got no clue…” Izuku said solemnly, shaking his head at the poor display.

“Is everyone in Class 1A like that?” Shinsou asked casually, setting off the blond on Izuku’s left.

“The fuck did you say, you fuckin’ zombie!? I’ll kill you!”

“That roughly translates into  _ no _ .”

“Ah.”

* * *

 

The next two matches went by quickly. After smashing through a barriers of Solid Air with his strong kicks, Iida knocked Tsuburaba out. Meanwhile, Aoyama hit his limit with his Naval Laser in the first second of the match, and it was easy for Ashido to slip around his meager attempts at close-combat. She put him down with an uppercut to the jaw.

Finally, it was time for Momo’s match. She was up against that irritating blond from the Cavalry Battle, Monoma Neito. He was standing on his side of the arena, arms crossed and a smug smirk on his face. He looked like he was hardly paying attention.

Meanwhile, Momo had her shirt open in preparation for her Creation Quirk, in the event that she would need to pull out something large. As a result, a fair bit of her upper-body was exposed, much to the appreciation of the men in the crowd.

According to Setsuna, Monoma’s Quirk was Copycat, which allowed him to copy the Quirk of somebody he’d had physical contact with. Probably not very useful for this match. Izuku remembered Momo saying at some point that she had to remember entire chemical formulas to Create things, and Izuku was willing to bet that Monoma didn’t put much stock in such things.

“START!” Present Mic shouted, and Monoma surprised them by shooting something at Momo. She dodged, but the projectile was quick enough that it grazed her, slicing a thin line across the arm of her jumpsuit.

Immediately, Momo pushed a chunk of metal out of her stomach, holding it up by two handles on the back.

“Oh!” Setsuna shouted, startling Izuku. “I think that’s Rin-san’s Quirk! It covers him in scales, and he can shoot them really fast!”

“Isn’t that technically illegal?” Izuku wondered out loud.

“Probably not? I mean, it  _ is _ being produced by his Quirk. Sort of.”

Down in the stadium, Monoma didn’t bother shooting anymore scales once Momo had her shield in place. Instead, he rushed forward. When he was close enough, he thrust a palm at the metal, and suddenly a sword blade poked through his palm. It didn’t pierce the metal, luckily, since Momo’s head was right on the other side, but it did push her back a little, startling her.

Momo stuck her head up, only to duck back down when another blade attempted to drive itself into her eye.

“That’s Kamakiri-kun’s Razor Sharp! He can make blades from anywhere on his body!”

Momo did something similar to that. She stuck a hand up over her little barrier, a metal pole shooting out of it, slamming into Monoma’s shoulder and pushing him back. He didn’t seem in pain, however. Probably because of the scales.

Behind her sheet of metal, Momo Created a smaller shield, one that could be strapped onto her forearm, then shoved the larger one at Monoma. He sidestepped it, only to get smacked on the side with a metal baton. He winced that time, probably not having enough time to get his scales in place.

Monoma countered by shooting scales from his fingertips, which were blocked by the circular shield. A blade protruded from his palm, which was slapped out of the way by Momo’s staff. The rod was then driven forward, jabbing Monoma in the chest, though he didn’t react. Instead, he chose to counterattack, reaching around the shield to cut a wide gash on Momo’s forearm before she could pull back. Before she was all the way out of his range, he slapped a normal palm against her shield, then shot some scales at his opponent’s feet to make her jump further away.

Suddenly, while Momo was retreating, her shield seemed to be hit by an invisible force, knocking her back and onto the ground.

“What was that?” Izuku asked, not having seen anything.

“I dunno… It was either Reiko-chan’s Poltergeist, which is basically telekinesis, or Shoda-san’s Twin Impact, which makes a second, bigger impact in the same place as the first one. Hard to tell, but I think it’s Twin Impact, since Monoma slapped her shield before she got too far.”

“How many Quirks can this guy Copy?”

“I think he said three’s his limit. But, the more he Copies, the less time he has with all of them.”

“Meaning…?’

“ _ Meaning _ , he should be done right, about… Now!”

Coincidentally, Monoma had been rushing at Momo, who was pushing herself to her feet, with a blade sticking out of each palm. He got close enough to take a swipe… And hit thin air. Momo hadn’t moved, but somehow, the swords sticking out of his hands had vanished. Monoma was scowling fiercely, but Momo took it as a chance to retaliate. She shield-bashed him in the shoulder, then, while he was off-balance, slammed her baton into his jaw, sending him to the floor, unconscious.

“Woah, that worked!?” Setsuna cried, amazed at the timing. Izuku was also shocked, though he wasn’t quite as vocal about it. He was slightly worried about the drops of blood at Momo’s feet, though…

“Monoma is unable to fight!” Midnight shouted, and the crowd roared. “Yaoyorozu advances to the next round!”

* * *

 

Katsuki’s match was right afterwards, so he got up and went down to the waiting rooms while Monoma’s knocked-out body was dealt with. He’d probably wake up with a nasty bruise.

“Ha ha ha! What the heck was that!? He was talking so much crap about you 1A guys, but then he goes and gets knocked in the first round!”

Setsuna seemed to be enjoying it a bit too much, and Shinsou was leaning slightly away from her. Of course, Izuku was doing the exact same thing, so he couldn’t really judge.

The two boys met up in the arena, Kirishima smiling brightly while Katsuki glared. However, his glare wasn’t as sharp. He didn’t actively hate Kirishima, just saw him as an obstacle to his victory. Of course, he hated obstacles, so…

“START!”

Kirishima threw his fists up in front of him, taking up an American boxer stance, bouncing on his toes. He seemed to be waiting for Katsuki to come at him- probably a good idea for somebody with a Hardening Quirk to play defensive.

Katsuki, as to be expected with an offensive Quirk like Explosions, blasted forwards, bringing his palms together for one massive blast which halted his momentum and covered Kirishima in a cloud of smoke. An instant later, a rugged fist flew out of the darkness, and only Katsuki’s quick reflexes prevented him from getting One-Hit K.O’d. He stepped back, throwing his hands up to detonate a few more explosions as a pseudo-defense.

Kirishima’s Hardening seemed to make him heavier, however, and he plowed right through the blasts, hardly pushed back. His tracksuit got ripped up, revealing equally-rocky flesh underneath. Kirishima swung, and Katsuki ducked, pointing a palm up at Kirishima’s face and blasting him right in the sharp-toothed smile. The redhead came out of it still smiling, though his hair seemed slightly singed. His smile also seemed to be straining, turning more and more into a grimace with every explosion he was hit with.

Katsuki was bobbing and weaving and dipping and dodging and ducking and diving- okay, well maybe not diving, but leaping into the air propelled by explosions. He landed behind Kirishima, impacting the ground particularly hard after aiming to blasts skywards to move faster, then released another two-handed blast at Kirishima’s back.

The blonde hopped back, and the smoke cleared to reveal the redhead still standing. However, there was a massive hole in the back of his jumpsuit, revealing that his Hardened skin was cracking.

Katsuki apparently knew that would happen, since, even though he couldn’t possibly have seen it, he was grinning like a loon. His hands sparked a few times as he warmed them up some more, preparing to hit even harder. And hit hard he did.

Kirishima charged in like a reckless bull, foregoing his fighting stance to throw a wild haymaker. Unfortunately, the punch was incredibly telegraphed, and Katsuki saw it coming long before it reached him. The blond leaned back out of its range, and slammed a particularly large explosion into Kirishima’s side, point blank, followed by a heavy blast to the face, which finally knocked Kirishima back.

The redhead staggered backwards a few steps, then tipped over and fell onto his back. The smoke cleared to reveal his eyes closed, Hardening receded.

“Kirishima is unable to fight! Bakugou advances to the next round!”

Katsuki threw a manic grin at Izuku, slamming an explosion into an open palm; a clear sign.

_ I’m coming for you, bastard! _

* * *

 

**Didn’t edit this chapter, excuse the mistakes. We die like warriors.**

**How are the fight scenes? They seem to have a lot exposition, but less in terms of actions, since I spend so long describing each move. Of course, I don’t know how else to write fight scenes, so I’ll probably just keep doing the same thing, but I want to know what y’all think.**

**If you have any questions about things which are confusing, or things from Tokyo Ghoul which you don’t know about, feel free to review.**

**K bai :D**


	12. Chapter 12

Kaibara and Kuroiro’s match was over quickly. Poor Kuroiro’s Quirk, Black- which allowed him to sink into shadows- was ill-suited for an outdoors, afternoon fight in an arena with no cover whatsoever. He  _ could _ have dove into Kaibara’s shadow, but Kaibara was quick enough with his Gyrate Quirk to knock him out before that happened.

* * *

 

Round 2:

Midoriya Izuku vs. Todoroki Shouto

Tokage Setsuna vs. Iida Tenya

Ashido Mina vs. Yaoyorozu Momo

Bakugou Katsuki vs. Kaibara Sen

* * *

 

This was the match Izuku had been waiting for. Staring across the cement platform at the heterochromatic teen, he couldn’t help but smile widely, showing a bit too many teeth for it to be considered anything other than predatory.

Todoroki, to his credit, held his gaze, and Izuku considered activating his kakugan. He decided against it, though- that would come in a few seconds.

“START!”

And the world went white. Well, bluish-white, since Todoroki’s ice wasn’t the same color as snow. Basically, Izuku was stuck in a big-ass glacier.

And suddenly, he wasn’t. His kagune had shoved their way out of his back, ignoring his already-ripped jumpsuit, and drilled their way through the ice. Once they had enough space, a simple swing shattered the glacier like glass.

Izuku exhaled heavily, his breath visible. “Damn, that’s cold!”

Todoroki sent another wave of ice, which was also shattered. Then another, and another, and another, until the teen was breathing heavily, patches of frost slowly covering his right side. Izuku, on the other hand, looked fresh as a daisy, if a bit blue. Being flash-frozen didn’t do good things for your complexion.

“So, gonna use your fire?” Izuku called across the stadium. The audience, which was being unusually quiet in the face of such obvious tension, hissed in sympathy at Todoroki being called out.

“I vowed to never use my left side in battle,” Todoroki replied stoically, if through gritted teeth, sending a new glacier at the green-haired teen. Just like its predecessors, it was broken effortlessly. Izuku sighed, dropping to his rear and crossing his legs. One hand was resting on a bent knee, supporting his head in an open palm, while the other pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Much to the amusement and consternation of the audience, Izuku began texting. Todoroki, obviously, got angry, and sent more frozen water. Izuku’s kagune easily slapped it aside. Still, he had to applaud his opponent; the kid had a lot of control to be so visibly mad, but not use his fire. Yet.

All men had a breaking point. It was just a matter of finding it, and a question of time. Would Todoroki succumb to his anger and try to roast Izuku alive, or would he give himself hypothermia like a jackass?

* * *

 

U watchin tv? : **Me**

**Touka** : No but i can be

**Touka** : y?

U should check the news : **Me**

**Touka** : k

**Touka** : Izuku r u srsly texting during a fight???

Hell yah : **Me**

This kids a prick who wont use his full power : **Me**

Im pretty much required by law to do some petty shit like this : **Me**

 

**Touka** : i mean yeah but dont fckn do it during a tournament thats gonna b broadcasted nationally

**Touka** : what if you get in trouble in ur classes???

I wont : **Me**

If anything theyll reward me 4 knocking this cunt off his high horse : **Me**

 

**Touka** : somebody sounds mad

 

This ho declared war on me or sum shit right in front of the entire class : **Me**

What do you expect?? : **Me**

**Touka** : oh

**Touka** : thats different

**Touka** : break his neck

I told him i would if he tried it again : **Me**

Unfortunately he learned his lesson : **Me**

**Touka** : then beat his ass in 2 secs

**Touka** : i know u can

**Touka** : stop being lazy

Idk man im feelin pretty tired : **Me**

Might just lie down n have me a mean nap : **Me**

**Touka** : dont

**Touka** : srsly dont fall asleep

**Touka** : at least sit up you ho

**Touka** : what if they disqualify you for being on the ground

Isnt that wrestling rules? : **Me**

**Touka** : well yeah but

**Touka** : idk how they do things at ua

Ugh fineeeeeeeeeee : **Me**

Ttyl BITCH : **Me**

**Touka** : ill end u

* * *

 

“AND HE’S BACK ON HIS FEET!” Present Mic shouted. “How disrespectful! What kinda things are you teachin’ these kids, Mummy Man!?”

A heavily-bandaged Aizawa, who had been roped into co-hosting the Sports Festival, sighed into his microphone. “He’s obviously not taking this seriously, which is foolish. Although, to be honest, if I’d been in his position, with those powers, I probably wouldn’t be worried either.”

“ _ WOAH! _ Scorching words from the man himself! What’s up with  _ that!? _ ”

“I’m not saying he shouldn’t take it seriously at all- laying down and texting during a fight is the height of irrationality. But, if he knows he can counter a move with ease, and then Todoroki keeps  _ using _ said move, well… You see where I’m going.”

* * *

 

“Seriously!?” Izuku shouted, “All that time, and you’re  _ still _ not using your fire!?”

“I… Made a…  _ Vow _ !” Todoroki hissed between pants. His entire right side was covered in ice, and his left side was beginning to turn blue from the cold. Izuku shook his head in disappointment-  _ this _ was the kid that had gotten in on recommendation?

“Whatever. I’m ending this before you hurt yourself further, ‘cause I’m not gonna be responsible for you needing to amputate something. Don’t even bother preparing.”

Then, Izuku vanished, and an instant later, a blue-clad limb was covering Shouto’s vision. He would later learn it was Izuku’s leg, the shin of which had slammed into his face, sending him flying across the stadium, clearly out of bounds. At this point, the cold had slowed him down enough that he couldn’t even make an ice wall to stop himself, and he made a solid impact with the actual wall. The frost covering him was forcibly knocked off. Due to the combination of frostbite due to Quirk overusage, exhaustion, and the power behind the blow, Todoroki was knocked out.

“Todoroki is out of bounds!” Midnight shouted. “Midoriya advances to the next round!”

There was only a handful of people clapping, the crowd too confused to register that the match had ended yet.

* * *

 

“Man, that was seriously lame…” Izuku muttered, wandering through the halls of the stadium. He was heading back to the stands from the player’s waiting room. Setsuna’s match was next, and she was against Iida. He wondered just how Iida planned to fight something he couldn’t hit.

Someone was standing in front of him. Izuku attempted to sidestep, but this person just got right back in his way. Irritated, the teen looked up, and came face-to-face with a bunch of fire.

“...Endeavour?”

“ _ Boy _ ,” the Hero growled.

“Cool. Excuse me, I wanna go watch the other matches.” Suddenly, the Flame Hero had a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it in a vice-grip. Izuku sighed again.

“ _ What? _ ”

“You embarrassed Shouto out there, boy.”

“Sho- you mean Todoroki? That dickbag embarrassed himself with his  _ I made a vow _ bullshit. Is he a chuuni?”

“I don’t appreciate your tone _ , boy _ .”

“Yeah, yeah. Now, if you’ll kindly move, I got places to be.” Izuku knocked Endeavour’s hand off his shoulder, pushing past the towering Hero. He promptly ignored the threats of fire and brimstone, deciding to just forget about that particular experience.  _ It’s kinda disappointing to know that the Number Two Hero’s such a bitch, but what’re ya gonna do? Although, I guess that’s why he’s not Number One. And because All Might is cool. _

* * *

 

“START!”

Iida kicked off with his Engine, rushing across the arena at impressive speeds. Setsuna, however, was no slouch, and was already floating around the air in twenty or so pieces. The poor 1A student looked so confused, whipping his head back and forth, that he was not prepared for the aerial barrage to the head. Izuku had no clue which piece was which, and did not feel like doing some sort of demented jigsaw puzzle to figure it out. As such, he didn’t know whether it was her leg or arm smacking Iida across the back of the head, but either way, every blow caused the boy to stumble. He seemed aggravated, swatting randomly at first, then attempting to shield his head with his arms.

Eventually, Iida just tried running around in circles, using his speed to evade most of the blows. It was going well, until Setsuna predicted where Iida would run, and pushed a chunk of her mutilated body into the way. The blue-haired boy tripped over it, and with the speeds he was going at, tumbled straight out of the arena.

“Iida is out of bounds! Tokage advances to the next round!”

* * *

 

“I was duped!” Iida shouted upon returning to the Class 1A section of the stands, chopping his hands vigorously. “Foiled by my own Quirk!”

“It’s all good, man! You got pretty far in the tournament, which means you definitely caught some Pro Hero’s eye!” Kirishima cried, shooting a thumbs-up at the square teen.

“You’re right, Kirishima-kun! Even in defeat, there is victory to be had! I will- oh, it seems somebody is calling me. Please excuse me!”

“He’s kinda intense, isn’t he…?” Setsuna asked, giggling nervously.

“Yeah, something like that... I hope you put up a better fight than Todoroki. I’m still pissed off about that,” Izuku grumbled, crossing his arms moodily.

“Yup! You can count on me!” Setsuna cried, saluting. “Anyways. I won my match! Praise me!”

“No."

“So mean, Izu-kun!”

* * *

 

“START!”

Ashido began by sliding towards Momo on a stream of acid, like she did in her match against Aoyama. Meanwhile, Momo pulled out a metal bo staff, which seemed to be her go-to weapon. When Ashido got close, Momo took a test-swing, which the pink-skinned girl dodged. For someone without an Enhancement Quirk, she had some pretty good reflexes.

Of course, Momo wasn’t lazy by any means, and she used her martial arts skills to spin the weapon around and jab at her opponent multiple times, each attack getting closer and closer to her target. Finally, Momo struck, but the staff was melted by incredibly potent Acid.

Momo summoned another one, but was then forced to leap back from a spray of corrosive fluid. They went back and forth like this, dodging jabs and splashes, before Momo seemed to get an idea.

The black-haired girl Created a nozzle, which only poked out of her hand instead of being completely Created. Then, water started to spray out of it with the force of a fire hose, and Izuku immediately understood the plan.

_ Right, water neutralizes acid, which means it’s basically Ashido’s weakness . Without her Acid, she’s just kinda athletic- not really a big deal for someone trained well in martial arts. _

Things didn’t exactly go that way, though. Yes, Ashido was soaked in an instant, and yes, her Acid was neutralized. However, Izuku underestimated the strength of the hose Momo had Created; it ended up pushing the pink girl out of the arena with sheer water pressure, which was actually pretty hilarious to watch.

“Ashido is out of bounds! Yaoyorozu advances to the next round!”

* * *

 

Katsuki vs. Kaibara. According to Setsuna, Kaibara’s Quirk was strictly used for close combat, and only really increased his damage potential- his ability to hurt his opponent. Unfortunately for him, Katsuki was much faster, in reflexes and movement speed, due to propulsion by his Quirk.

It was a foregone conclusion, but Kaibara still put up a decent fight. He dodged well, rarely being caught by surprise, and stayed out of Katsuki’s range for a bit of time. Unfortunately, once he tried to go in for an attack, things got…  _ Dicey. _ Katsuki had let the boy come close, while he was warming his palms up with firecrackers. Then, once they were nice and moist, he brought both palms up to create a massive blast, angled up to launch Kaibara off the ground. Had he tumbled along the concrete, he might have been fine, but since there wasn’t much resistance in the air, Kaibara flew straight out of the arena. He got some obligatory applause, but didn’t seem too torn up about it, to be honest.

“Kaibara is out of bounds! Bakugou advances to the next round!”

* * *

 

Round 3:

Midoriya Izuku vs. Tokage Setsuna

Bakugou Katsuki vs. Yaoyorozu Momo

* * *

 

“So, Izu-kun, will you go easy on me? Pwetty  _ pwease _ ?” Setsuna begged, pushing out her lower lip and widening her eyes. The effect was considerably lessened, since they were standing on opposite sides of an arena, and were about to fight.

“No. Try that again, and I’ll break something.”

“Oh, you can break  _ me _ anytime you want,” Setsuna purred, and Midnight coughed up on her stand. Izuku looked at her, slightly disturbed to see blood dripping from the R-Rated Heroine’s nose.

“START!”

“And the Green Bean Squad has turned against each other in a twist of fate! How tragic!” Setsuna shouted, pieces of her body breaking off. “The only question is, who is the betrayer, and who is the  _ betrayed _ !?”

“Wanna be a little bit louder? I can still hear.”

“You want me to scream, Izu-kun? But we’re in public- we’ll be found out!”

“And I’m shutting up now.”

“Oh, so you like that kind of play, hm? What about whips and chains? Or is it only gags?”

Izuku ignored Setsuna’s voice, instead focusing on the tiny meat-projectiles rocketing at him. She could make around twenty of them, and they moved at speeds that were about the same as Iida. Nothing to worry about, in terms of speed and power, but damn if they weren’t annoying.

The first chunk was ducked, another slapped to the side with a flick of his wrist. Tilting his head to the side caused a third piece to miss, then two more were jumped over. In the air, his kagune ripped through his back, slamming another half-dozen pieces into the ground. Just as he was about to land, however, a Setsuna-nugget wedged its way under his foot, causing him to stumble. For the next few seconds, he was bombarded with the girl’s body, until he regained his bearings, kagune flaring fiercely.

_ This is obnoxious… She said she can regenerate these things, right? _

The piece which fucked up his landing was still under his foot, so he applied a bit of pressure and crushed it to a paste. With a thought, his kagune were repurposed from smooth tentacles to sharp blades, and he stabbed clean through another piece of Setsuna as a warning. She seemed to heed it, because she quickly regathered herself,

“That wasn’t very proper, Izu-kun! You’re supposed to save penetration for the wedding night!”

Off to the side, he heard Midnight breaking down into hysterics, but he ignored it. Instead, he chose to bend his knees, preparing to rush the girl.

“Ah, wait, wait! I forfeit!”

Izuku, who was annoyed at being cut off for the second fight in a row, leapt at her anyways. However, he stopped short, his chest bumping against her nose. Setsuna screamed at his sudden appearance, toppling over.

“T-Tokage has forfeited!” Midnight cried, nose still leaking, “Midoriya advances to the Finals!”

Izuku knelt down next to the girl, shoving his face right in front of hers.

“What was that?” he growled, sclera bleeding black.

“Y-you crushed two of my pieces, and it takes a lot of energy to regrow them! I’m too tired to continue, I swear!” Setsuna cried, waving her hands in front of her to ward off his anger. Then, she smiled slyly, tone doing a complete one-eighty. “Ah, but you’re so close, Izu-kun! If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask~!”

Izuku sighed, his hot breath brushing against Setsuna’s face, causing her to blush despite all the things she had just said. Apparently, she was only now realizing just how close they were.

“Friggin’ lazy…” the green-haired boy mumbled, rising to his feet.

“That’s mean! Just for that, you have to carry me now!” Setsuna cried, dramatically flopping onto her back.

“Or what?”

“Or… I won’t move from here!”

“Then rot.” Izuku turned away, from the theatrical girl, causing her to clutch her moderately-developed chest in faux pain.

“How cruel, to leave a maiden to such a horrible fate! Wait, come back! Seriously, I’m too tired to walk!”

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose, praying to whatever god was listening to give him strength, before turning back to the lizard girl. Thankfully, she didn’t comment on his decision to carry her bridal style- though the crowd did, with a variety of wolf whistles and catcalls- instead preferring to nuzzle against his chest.

“Man, you’re really warm! I feel like I could just take a nap right here...:”

Within seconds, her breathing had levelled out, and Izuku was left with a sleeping girl in his arms, much to his irritation.

“I’m not a goddamned bed…!”

* * *

 

Izuku dropped Setsuna off at the infirmary- literally, just dropped her into one of the beds and told Recovery Girl the situation- before rushing back to the stands to watch the second-to-last match. Iida still wasn’t there, which was slightly odd. Had his phone call taken that long? Or maybe he was just in the bathroom? Whatever. Katsuki was facing off against Momo down in the arena, so he needed to pay attention.

* * *

 

“Yo, Vice-Rep!” Katsuki called to the girl. She seemed a bit surprised that he wasn’t attacking right off the bat. Or maybe just that was talking to her, since the match hadn’t started yet.

“What’s up with you and Izuku, hah!? It’s annoying to watch you fucks dance around each other!”

“What are you talking about, Bakugou-kun? There’s nothing wrong with me and M-Midoriya-kun.”

Katsuki easily noticed the way she stuttered when saying his name. Almost like she was scared of it. For some reason, she also seemed reluctant to be around his friend; running whenever a convenient excuse came up, never looking him in the eyes, doing her best to not talk to him- she didn’t even say  _ good morning _ without the boy doing so first! It was ridiculous! 

Before the attack at the U.S.J, those two seemed to be glued at the hip. They walked around in the hallways together, sat next to each other at lunch, gravitated towards each other during breaks and free periods…

Then came that Friday, and it was like they were strangers. Yaoyorozu looked guilty, while Izuku kept up his apathetic mask. However, Katsuki had known the boy for nearly a year- he knew when something was bugging his green-haired friend. Izuku had a bad habit; whenever he was confused or irritated about something, he’d start tapping. Whether it be his pen against his desk, or his fingers on his thighs and elbows, he started tapping. Izuku probably didn’t notice, but Katsuki did. As such, he also noticed that Izuku did so whenever he looked at Yaoyorozu. There was no furrowed eyebrows or clenched fists, so Katsuki assumed it was more confusion. Confused about  _ what _ , though? Their now-broken relationship?

“START!”

Whatever. He’d think about it later. He had a Vice-Rep to murder.

* * *

 

Izuku noticed that Katsuki was a bit more aggravated than normal. The blond’s fingers seemed to be itching to curl into claws, but stopped halfway, resulting in what looked like muscle spasms.

Present Mic announced the fight, however, so he ignored it. If it was truly bugging Katsuki, he’d be the one to bring it up, or nothing would ever pry it out of him.

Katsuki rushed, as he always did, boosting himself with Explosions to go up and over Momo. With a twist, he launched himself at her back, intending to bring her down with a kick. At least, that’s what it looked like. When Momo turned around to block with a shield she’d Created, Katsuki let loose a blast when he was too far to cause any real damage. The effect was a smokescreen, which seeped past Momo’s circular shield and irritated her eyes.

While the girl was blinking soot out of her eyes, Katsuki launched himself to the side, then forwards, so he was right next to Momo. He clapped an Explosion against her undefended right flank, causing her to tip over. While waiting for the girl to leap to her feet, Katsuki was warming his palms up.

The instant Momo seemed stable, Katsuki grabbed her shield, yanking it forward, then letting go with one hand to blast Momo directly in the face. She tumbled backwards, being forced to relinquish her grip on the shield in the face of Katsuki’s superior strength, or accidentally twist her arm. The blond tossed the wood circle away, clapping his hands together to hype himself up further. Not that he really needed it.

This time, Katsuki didn’t wait for Momo to regain her footing, instead blasting forward to rain Explosions on the girl. Each one sent her tumbling a few more meters, and by the fifth detonation, she had rolled past the white line. Midnight waited a few seconds for the smoke to clear before announcing the outcome.

“Yaoyorozu is out of bounds! Bakugou advances to the Finals!”

* * *

 

**Few things to explain. First, Izuku is not a one-eyed ghoul. There are no one-eyed ghouls in this universe; if they’re a ghoul, they have two kakugan. Simple as that.**

**The thing about Shinsou not being able to control Izuku’s Kagune; the kakuhou, and thus the “Quirk” are not originally Izuku’s, as was explained, and Shinsou was only exerting his Brainwashing on a single person. Basically, Izuku’s kakuhou counts as part of somebody else. If Shinsou had Brainwashed this somebody else,** **_then_ ** **he would be able to control Izuku’s kagune. Unfortunately, he won’t ever be in that position, so it doesn’t really matter.**

**In case y’all didn’t catch it, recall chapter 7, when Izuku received a phone call before entering the bus to the U.S.J. That was on Friday morning, and the call was to notify Izuku that Fueguchi Asaki had been killed. The reason he got mad from the Caller I.D was because Kuzen was the one calling. That relationship will be explained at a later date.**

 


	13. Chapter 13

* * *

Semi-Finals:

Yaoyorozu Momo vs. Tokage Setsuna

* * *

 

This match was a bit of a tossup, in Izuku’s mind. Setsuna could be everywhere at once, and just bombard Momo without getting scathed. However, Momo could also create a miniature bunker or something, and simply wait for Setsuna to tire out. The green-haired girl was also still tired from her match against Izuku; regenerating two of her pieces took a lot out of her, and she was slightly swaying on her feet. Because of that alone, Momo seemed more likely to win. Still, it was a bit too early to pass judgement, since neither girl had a solid edge over the other. All he could do was wait and see.

“START!”

Neither girl leapt into action like they normally did. Instead, they started… Talking?

* * *

 

“Tokage-san, please excuse me for being nosey, but I feel that I must ask… What, exactly, is your relationship with Midoriya-kun?”

“We’re lovers, of course!”

“L-L-!  _ What _ !?”

Tokage laughed, waving a hand in front of her face dismissively. “Nah, that’s a joke- I only met him today. Anyways, why are you asking…?” Tokage trailed off, then gasped. “Unless! Is this one of those declarations of war between love rivals!? That’s so~ romantic! Alright, I definitely won’t lose, Yaoyorozu-san! Prepare yourself, for our battle shall be legendary!”

The green-haired girl immediately split into pieces before Momo could refute those scandalous claims, putting her on high-alert despite her intensely red face.

Momo had seen Tokage’s previous match, and knew that her opponent preferred speedy hit-and-run tactics. That put Momo at a slight disadvantage; she couldn’t make anything large enough to effectively protect herself, like a riot shield, without a long period of uninterrupted concentration. With Tokage, that wasn’t likely to happen, so she’d have to stick to what could be made with her palms.

A bo staff was useless- she didn’t have the reflexes of Midoriya-kun, and wouldn’t be able to bat away Tokage’s pieces. Maybe she could try the tactic she’d employed against Ashido?

A golden nozzle popped halfway out of her hand, which was then pointed at the place with the highest concentration of body parts. With a thought, water came shooting out at high speeds. Unfortunately, Tokage was faster, and easily evaded the stream. Before Momo could shut off the makeshift hose think of something else, it was done for her by a chunk smashing into the back of her knees. Concentration broken, Momo fell to the ground, then was immediately set upon by an air-to-face barrage.

While three- or ten, she couldn’t tell- pieces kept Momo distracted, Tokage was reforming her arms, unbeknownst to the cowering girl. She couldn’t muster the discipline to focus on Creating something, and had to just keep her hands around her head.

Suddenly, something grabbed Momo by the wrists, and began dragging her while she was still being slapped around. She struggled for all she was worth, and it seemed to be working. Her captor slowed down, then stopped completely, letting go.

Momo shot to her feet, and only had time to register the smug grin on her opponent’s face, before she was bodily shoved to the ground. A perfectly-intact Tokage stood over her, smiling widely. On the ground between them, was a white line.

“Yaoyorozu is out of bounds! Tokage takes Third Place in the Tournament!”

* * *

 

“It’s finally the last battle of the U.A High School Sports Festival! The strongest of the First Years will be decided with this one match! The final, so to speak!”

And the crowd  _ roared _ . The hype had been building up all day, hardly deterred by the sweltering midday sun. So long as the fights were good and the action was fast, these people probably wouldn’t care if they were standing in the ice plains of Antarctica. They wanted violence, and the two finalists seemed like the type to provide.

“From the Heroics Course, the bundle of C4 that somebody got confused with firecrackers, Bakugou Katsuki! Versus! Also from the Heroics Course, he man who has stood at the top from the first moments of the Festival- he who has not given an inch, the indomitable Midoriya Izuku!”

Katsuki glare-grinned at Izuku, teeth displayed proudly and fingers twitching in anticipation. Everything they had done this day was building up to this moment, and he was just getting warmed up, dammit! He’d definitely show this curly-haired bastard today!

Izuku stared blankly back, hands in his pocket and shoulders slouched enough that a few members of the audience were worried about the future of his back posture. Honestly, the fights today hadn’t been anything special. The only highlight was probably the Obstacle Course, when he’d actually been able to cut loose without worrying about harming people. Poor Katsuki didn’t know it, but even he wasn’t an actual challenge.  _ Man, I never thought I’d say this, but… I miss Tokyo. _

“START!”

An Explosion rocked the air, startling many in the crowd despite their best attempts to prepare for it. Katsuki went flying, homing straight in on Izuku while pushing himself even faster.

When the blond was only a few meters away, Izuku went low, but remained where he was. A massive blast ripped through the arena, whipping up a cloud of black smoke and dust, obscuring the audience’s view. Katsuki took a few steps backwards, watching warily, warming up his palms until they were dripping.

When the fog finally cleared, they saw Izuku standing- crouching- in the exact place he had been, seemingly not moved a centimeter. He was mostly fine, save for the soot covering him, and the fact that the upper half of his tracksuit was shredded, revealing his chiseled muscles. Many onlookers appreciated that, catcalling the apathetic teen, ignoring the fact that trying to engage in any of the things they screamed out would likely get them jailed for pedophilia. Despite his devilish good looks, Izuku was still a minor. He also still had his hands in his pockets, and somehow, Katsuki wasn’t about to burst a blood vessel.

The blond understood he hadn’t been a challenge before, back when they had practice spars everyday after classes in Junior High. No matter how much Katsuki improved, Izuku was always able to ramp up his speed and strength to the perfect point so that it seemed like the blond was exactly where he started. However, Katsuki knew differently. Everyday, the gouges in the field behind his house, caused by his Explosions, were getting larger. Everyday, he was lasting a few seconds longer in their fights. Everyday, he was  _ improving _ , while Izuku remained stagnant because he wasn’t taking things seriously. He might have even deteriorated from holding himself back so much!

Meanwhile, Katsuki worked himself to the bone every second of every day, doing his best to surpass his friend and prove himself as the best one around, the sure-shot for Number One Hero. His inability to do so frustrated him, but it also helped him in a way. Because Izuku had no clue of his progress, the green-haired teen also likely underestimated him.

Now, he’d show this bastard that he shouldn’t feel so secure in his position at the top! He wouldn’t hold back like that damned Half-and-Half!

Rocketing forward, Katsuki was surprised to see Izuku actually move. He’d thought that his friend would have stood still until the end of days. Then again, he probably didn’t like getting ruffled every five seconds. Probably easier to just dodge. Although, it didn’t  _ look  _ like he was dodging… Actually, he was coming straight at Katuki!

Blasting vertically into the air, the blond used gravity to aid his downward ascent, along with his Quirk, and once more released an earth-shattering detonation. A few people in the stands screamed as gales of wind and heat bore down upon them, but Katsuki didn’t slow down. He got in close this time, using fine-tuned Explosions to maneuver quickly and hit Izuku from all angles, sometimes with his power, and sometimes with his actual fist.

The green-haired teen was weaving around the blows for the most part, getting grazed by the blasts due to the large splash and close proximity, but more or less coping just fine. Eventually, he got bored, and began to retaliate. A few slapped wrists to redirect some Explosions, maybe a light kick or punch to the face. Honestly, it was pissing Katsuki off. He knew his friend could hit harder than this- could knock him out in an instant if he wanted- so why was he just playing around!?

Despite understanding just where they stood in terms of combat capability compared to each other, Katsuki couldn’t help but feel that he was being made fun of. He had always been the strongest, beating down anyone that thought he was all show, thought he was just an arrogant kid. And then came Izuku, with his permanent exhaustion, quiet acceptance of nearly everything, and the strength to put Katsuki in his place in moments, something even his mother had failed at for years (It weirded Katsuki out how attached his mom was to his friend). And yet, the curly-haired bastard refused to use it.

Nearly a year of this bullshit, and now… It was starting to piss. Him.  _ Off. _

“Will you fucking get serious, you piece of shit!? Why the hell are you fighting if you can’t be bothered!?”

Izuku’s eyes widened. He knew that Katsuki was a kind of a hateful little cunt, but it had been quite a while since the blond had gotten angry with him. Normally, Izuku was the one holding him back because he was the only one Katsuki  _ wouldn’t _ get mad at. It seemed that something had changed since those days, however.

Katsuki saw the silent question in his friend’s eyes.  _ What are you talking about? _

“Stop going easy on me, dammit! Are you tryin’ to tell me I’m not worth your time!?”

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but the blond had stopped listening already. He flew backwards courtesy of an Explosion, then used some more to push himself into an accelerating spin. Within seconds, Katsuki was nothing more than a tornado of black smoke, rushing across the arena furiously, the blond’s animalistic scream of rage nearly inaudible amidst the noise of constant detonations and the roar of the crowd at the hot-blooded battle.

“Howitzer  _ IMPACT!” _

The world shook.

* * *

 

It felt like his wrists had shattered. His hands were twitching, fingers trying to ball up into fists, but the pain was too much. It wasn’t happening, so he dropped them to his sides. Whatever the results of his super move, Katsuki was done for this fight. In his rage, he’d gone far over his limit, pouring everything he had, all his insecurities and all his anger, all his dreams of being the Number One Hero, of being the best, into that blow. He couldn’t continue fighting if he tried. Now, all that was left was to watch and wait.

A cloud of ash seemed to cover the world, and it wasn’t in a hurry to leave. The seconds ticked by, and finally, by the minute mark, Katsuki could see again. Heat ravished the stadium, the sky darkened by the fog. And there, in the center of ground zero, stood a silhouette, smoke curling off him, body blackened by dirt and soot. His arms were crossed in front of his face, and behind him, four tentacles were jabbed into the ground as support.

Izuku uncrossed his arms slowly, stiffly. His ears were ringing, and his vision threatened to go sideways, but his regeneration kicked in and fixed that in a moment, repairing the shattered nerves.

Letting out a breath of hot air, Izuku unhooked himself from the ground, sliding his kagune back into his flesh, ignoring the disturbing noises they made. Another heavy exhale, and he managed to set his breathing straight. Looking past the smog, he saw the resignation on Katsuki’s face. Not defeat, though. Never defeat. Merely an acceptance that, right now, this was the most he could do, and he’d come to terms with it. He didn’t like it, but he acknowledged his loss.

“I surrender.”

* * *

 

“Izuku, I can’t believe I got Third Place! I’m pretty much guaranteed good offers for the Hero-work Study! Ooh, what if I get one from All Might’s Hero Office!? That’d be so cool!”

Izuku wasn’t listening, mind a million kilometers away. He sat here on his podium, one foot resting halfway over the edge, with his knee bent upwards so he could rest his cheek against it. His other leg was hanging down above Third Place podium next to him, Setsuna’s chin digging into his solid thigh, her temple resting against his stomach. He was idly petting the girl’s hair, undoing any knots he found, but not paying attention to a word she said.

First Place. He’d expected to win this tournament, he’d expected to be fighting Katsuki in the Final, but for his friend to do that…

_ I surrender? _

Bakugou Katsuki does not surrender. That is a fact of life. Just as the sky was blue in the afternoon, just as All Might is the Symbol of Peace, Bakugou Katsuki does not back down… Right?

So what the hell had happened back there? Katsuki let loose with his insanely powerful Explosion, rocking the entirety of the Earth, and then he just gives up?  _ Why _ , though? He saw that his friend’s hands were trembling- even now, when he glanced behind him, the blond’ arms were shaking, but why? Was it a sign of pent-up grief, or perhaps rage, at losing? Maybe… Did Katsuki hurt himself?

_ His Quirk  _ is _ Explosions... Actually, it’d be weirder if there wasn’t any kickback. I’ve never seen him in that state, but I’ve also never seen him create a blast like that. Maybe he went too far over his limit? Still, that was almost a half-hour ago. Why is he  _ still _ shaking…? He needs to go see Recovery Girl. I’ll drag him there if he doesn’t want to, potentially broken wrists be damned. _

Something tugged on his pants, and he was brought back to the real world. Setsuna was staring up at him, seemingly worried by the solemn expression on his face.

“Izuku? Are you alright?” she asked, shuffling a bit closer.

“Yeah…” he muttered, flicking her in the forehead. He put a bit too much force behind it, causing the lizard-girl’s head to pitch back, the skin rapidly turning red.

“Ow! What the heck was that for!?”

“Oh. Sorry. I just did that impulsively, so I wasn’t really paying attention to how much strength I put into it… Where’d you get the medal?”

Setsuna stopped her whining, though the crocodile tears remained in the corners of her eyes.

“Weren’t you paying attention? All Might just gave it to me- he’s standing right next to you with yours, you idiot! Stand up!”

Izuku tilted his head up and to the side, finding himself eye-to-knee with the Number One Hero.

“Oh. Hey, Sensei.”

“Hello to you, too, Midoriya-shounen!” All Might said loudly, laughing boisterously. There was more amusement to this chuckle than his customary laugh, which was designed to calm people more than express his emotions.

“I must say, you most definitely earned this gold medal! You showcased such speed, strength, and skill, as well as the ability to make split-second decisions which would net you the highest gains! Indeed, you have the makings of a true Hero. Good work, my boy! Although, I don’t exactly approve of your display against Todoroki-shounen...”

Izuku finally climbed to his feet, centering himself on the podium to stand directly in front of All Might. He didn’t say anything, so the Pro Hero took it as a sign to place the medal in hands reverently around the neck of his student. Then, he  _ hugged _ him, and Izuku slightly freaked out.

He tensed up unintentionally- in his experience, the only men that touched him tended to be trying to kill him brutally, and in a bloody fashion (Not the women weren’t the same, but they tended to be less overt about their intentions). Plus, he wasn’t expecting the Symbol of Peace to do something like that.

Thankfully, All Might noticed his discomfort, along with the other two top-rankers in the Festival. Nobody commented, and All Might turned around to address the crowd with a speech to conclude the event.

Izuku, however, wasn’t paying attention anymore. He scratched at his shoulder uncomfortably, shivering a bit at the unexpected contact. It’d been a while since he’d been hugged by anyone… Probably around six years. The last time he saw his mother in person. Basically, he was a bit out of practice.

All Might finished talking, the podiums retracted into the ground, and Izuku let out a massive sigh of relief. He was grateful this entire thing was finally over- it had been quite tiring. Still, his job wasn’t done yet. He turned to his blond friend.

“Katsuki, you need to go see Recovery Girl.”

“I  _ know _ that, you dumbass. I was just about to.”

“Oh. Well, I’m coming with, to make sure your dumbass doesn’t get distracted.”

“Hah!? Wanna die!?”

Izuku’s lip curled into a microscopic smile. If he was getting death threats, then things were going back to normal. Everything would be fine.

* * *

 

Scratch that- things were  _ not _ fine. Momo was also in the Infirmary, and Izuku had no clue what to say to her. He didn’t even know if he  _ should _ say something to her; the girl had basically avoided him as much as she could, only interacting with him due to their Class Representative duties. She seemed dead-set on ignoring him most of the time, so would this be any different?

Probably not. She was walking towards the group of three, head down and staring intensely at the metal floor. Still, he should at least try to say something, right?

“Hey, Momo.”

She froze, head only raising about a centimeter to look at his bright-red shoes.

“Hello, Midoriya-kun,” she said softly, then began to move her legs once more.

“You did good out there: Fourth Place isn’t something to make light of. You’ll probably get all sorts of offers for the Hero-work Study.”

She froze again. “Y-you did good as well. Congratulations on getting First Place, Midoriya-kun. If you’ll excuse me, my ride is waiting, so… I’ll see you tomorrow. Congratulations to you as well, Bakugo-kun, Tokage-san. Goodbye.”

Then, Momo sped past at a brisk pace, hands clasped tightly in front of her chest, making it clear that she didn’t want to be bothered anymore. Izuku watched her shadow for a second, before turning back around. Setsuna began telling a joke to try and lighten the suddenly-tense atmosphere, but Izuku didn’t hear a single word.

* * *

 

Katsuki had mostly calmed down during their little journey to the Infirmary, both from the adrenaline of the fight, and the rage which had temporarily overtaken him. But, glaring at the back of Yaoyorozu’s spiky ponytail, he felt it reignite and burst with the force of a supernova. What the hell was up with that, brushing past them like that when Izuku had been doing his best to talk to her? He saw the boy tapping away at his leg for the entire interaction. He was uncomfortable, but he still made the effort! The  _ least _ that bitch could’ve done was meet him halfway!

_ One of these days, I’m gonna murder that damned Vice-Rep! _

* * *

 

**Not edited, we die like warriors.**

**Up next, the Hero-work Study!** **  
****K bai :D**


	14. Chapter 14

“Woah, you’re Midoriya Izuku, right!?”

“Wait, didn’t you place first in the U.A Sports Festival!?”

“Dude, I was watching the broadcast! You did crazy good!”

And so on, and so on...

* * *

 

“What’s got you so pissy, nerd?” Katsuki asked, settling into his seat in front of Izuku. The blond took the train at a different time, and so almost always arrived later than Izuku, despite the fact that they lived a few houses away from each other.

“People… Are loud.”

“Are you only  _ now _ figuring that out? Anyways, I guess you’re talking about on the train?”

“ _ Yes _ .”

“Yeah, same thing happened to me. Honestly, I thought I escaped those asskissers once we finished Junior High- now it turns out they stay that way for life. Talk about pathetic.”

Izuku nodded wordlessly. He was exhausted from having to deal with all the wellwishers in a polite, if distant, manner. He was trying to be a Hero, after all, and Heroes didn’t threaten people just because they’re annoyed. Well, except for Endeavor, but he was a different breed of asshole.

Aizawa slid open the door quietly, walking over to the podium. A week of rest and a few sessions with Recovery Girl had the man virtually brand-new, though he didn’t seem any happier about it. Their teacher didn’t even seem less tired, as if he hadn’t caught up on his sleep at all. Was Aizawa a workaholic?

The class quieted down the instant he entered, and so he started talking right away.

“We’re having a special Hero informatics class today; code names. You’ll be coming up with your Hero names. This is related to the Pro Hero drafts Midoriya told you about when I was absent last week. Although they begin in earnest during Second and Third Year, when the students have the experience to be of immediate use, they’ve extended the invitation to the First Years this time. This means they’re interested in your potential. If their interest dies down before you graduate, the offers can be cancelled.”

“Does that mean we have to prove ourselves once we get picked?” Hagakure asked from a few seats over. Aizawa nodded, picking up a remote.

“These are the numbers of offers you guys received.”

* * *

 

Midoriya: 5,638

Bakugou: 3,276

Todoroki: 1,352

Yaoyorozu: 419

...

* * *

 

“In other years, it would’ve been more spread out, but all eyes were on Midoriya and Bakugou this time around.”

“Man, there’s such a huge difference!” Kaminari groaned, throwing his head back.

“Those Pros don’t know talent when they see it!” Aoyama fumed, steaming in glittery anger.

Momo sighed, slightly disappointed in the lack of interest in her. She turned to Todoroki, who was sitting next to her. “You’re amazing, Todoroki-kun; you got so many offers…”

“They’re probably because of who my father is,” Todoroki shot back instantly, slumping further into his seat. He seemed frustrated by that, so Momo refrained from trying to talk with him again.

“Man, Midoriya, how’d you get so many offers!?” Mineta cried, shaking the green-haired teen by his shoulder. Izuku was tempted to break that hand, but settled for shrugging it off. He didn’t reply.

“Regardless of how many offers you got,” Aizawa began, recapturing his students’ attention, “You’ll all be interning with Pros. That’s what the Hero names are for; so you can be identified out in the field without using your real name. Those names might be temporary, but if you don’t take this seriously…”

The sliding door was flung open.

“There’ll be hell to pay later!” Midnight shouted.

_ Was she listening at the door to make a dramatic entrance? _

“Many times, the Hero names you students pick get recognized by society, and they stick around long after you’re done with school! So, get it right the first time!”

“That’s about the size of it,” Aizawa said. “I’m not cut out for this, so Midnight will be helping you. Homeroom’s been extended for you to take care of this- finish before lunch. We won’t be working on it again.”

Whiteboards, markers, and erasers were passed around, and the class set to work. There was a bit of idle chatter, as kids asked each other for opinions on possible names.

“You know, I can swing around on my tape like that one American Hero- maybe I should call myself Spider-Man?”

“I’m pretty sure copyright laws would beat your ass for that, dude.”

“Damn.”

* * *

 

People started presenting names, while Izuku was still staring at a blank whiteboard. His mind was conveniently empty, with not even the slightest clue as to what he should use. These things would stick, and likely become his Pro Hero name, so he wanted to do this properly. It might not seem like such a big deal, but for some reason, Izuku really wanted to do this. Only problem was, he had no clue  _ how _ .

“Hm, it’s a bit too long. Maybe you should take out the  _ I _ and shorten the  _ can not _ to  _ can’t _ .”

“Are you trying for the thing with the acidic blood!? I wouldn’t if I were you!”

“That’s so  _ cute _ ! It seems friendly! I like it!”

The class erupted into cheers, shattering Izuku’s fragile concentration. He looked up, and saw Asui’s name; Froppy. Something she’d had in mind since even before Junior High, is what she’d said. Unfortunately, Izuku never thought he’d be a Hero before six months ago, so that wasn’t an option.

“Red Riot, huh? You’re paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero, Crimson Riot, right?”

A name inspired by an older Hero? Izuku didn’t know that many, and there wasn’t enough time to research them and find something fitting, so that probably wouldn’t work.

“Hearing Hero; Earphone Jack!”

_ Isn’t that the name of her Quirk? I don’t think calling myself Ghoul would really over well with Kayama-Sensei. _

“Tentacle Hero; Tentacole!”

_ Nothing to say about that. It fits him. _

“Taping Hero; Cellophane!”

_ Well, at least he didn’t pick something already taken. _

“Martial Arts Hero: Tailman!”

_ Inspired by a defining feature? Maybe my green hair? I can just imagine Setsuna picking my name for me _ ;  _ The Green Bean Hero; Midori! Wonder what she’s gonna pick? I’ll ask her later. _

“Sweets Hero: Sugarman!”

_The catalyst for the activation of his Quirk?_ _The Human Flesh Hero: RC Man!_

“PINKY!”

_ Man, Ashido sounds pissed. _

“Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt!”

_ Jamming-Whey was better _ .

“Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl!”

_ Isn’t there already an Invisible Man…? Wait, no, he was a Villain. _

“I hope I will not bring shame to this name. Everything Hero: Creati!”

_ Kind of lackluster... _

“Shoto.”

_ Just his name? That seems too lazy, even for me. _

“Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi.”

_ Always the chuuni. Never change, Tokoyami. _

“Fresh-Picked Hero: Grape Juice!”

_ Bet that perv would just  _ love _ it if some girls squeezed him into juice. Friggin’ sicko. _

Koda, who didn’t like to speak, just held up his board;  _ Petting Hero, Anima. _

_ Makes sense. He does like animals, and considering his Quirk… _

“King Explosion Murder!”

_ That fucking retard. _

“This is what I thought of; Uravity!”

_ Seems like a combination of her given name and Quirk name. Uraraka and Zero-Gravity. I don’t think my names fit together like that. Midoriya and Ghoul… Moul? Nah, that’s dumb. _

Tenya.

_ Looks like Iida’s using his first name as well… But he doesn’t look happy about it. Why wouldn’t he just go with what he wanted…? _

“LORD EXPLOSION MURDER!”

_ I’m gonna hurt him. _

“Midoriya, are you ready?” Midnight asked. Izuku didn’t respond, still staring intensely at his board, marker uncapped in his hand. He placed the chiseled tip against the white surface, and slowly scrawled out the characters for his Hero name.

It was only a prototype, but at the same time, Izuku wouldn’t mind if it was the final product. After all, it was the only name he’d been given by someone other than his parents, that hadn’t had some sort of negative connotation, or been attached to an unpleasant memory. Well, this one was actually a bit of both, but the good far outweighed the bad. Basically, it was the best he could come up with right now.

“The Monstrous Hero: Kaibutsu-kun.”

* * *

 

“Now that you’ve decided on your Hero names, we’ll go back to talking about the internships. They will last for a week, including the weekends, and the location will depend on which Hero Agency you go to. Those of you who received offers will be getting your lists. Those who didn’t, there are forty Hero Agencies which have agreed to take you on- you’ll pick from them. Different Agencies have different specialties. For example, Thirteen is a rescue specialist. Think carefully before you choose, and turn in your decision before the weekend.”

* * *

 

“Hey…” Ashido called out to the class, who were getting ready to go to the cafeteria. “Have you guys decided where you’re going?”

“I’m going to Mount Lady!” Mineta shouted, cheeks red in anticipation.

“I still need a bit of time to go through my list,” Momo admitted, scratching a cheek daintily.

“Lucky~” Jiro and Ashido droned simultaneously. Ashido alone continued speaking. “I didn’t get  _ any _ offers…”

“That’s pretty weird, Ashido-san,” Ojiro said. “You performed well in the tournament.”

“I know, right!?” Ashido cried, jumping up. “Those Pros only had eyes for the top two, though… Speaking of which, Bakugou, Midori-chan, have you two picked where you’re going?”

“I’m going to Endeavor’s Agency,” Katsuki said. Izuku remained silent, staring at his phone.

“Midori-chan?”

“Yo, Izuku, you in there?”

Izuku stood up, walking out of the classroom without a word.

* * *

 

“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve, Ayato.”

_ “Shut it, you shitty brat. You wanted leads on Yamori? I’m the best bet you got right now.” _

“You can take your bets and shove ‘em up your ass, you fucking cunt. First you tell me you don’t know anything, and now you’re feeding me this bullshit!?”

_ “It ain’t bullshit if it’s true, dumbass. I didn’t know anything back then, but now I do. If you don’t wanna listen, though…” _

“...Fine. You’re lucky Touka still cares about you, or I would’ve killed you already, you bastard.

_ “Yeah, yeah. The place is in Hosu- it’s called the 24th Ward. Get there yourself, ‘cause I’m not comin’ to get ya at the train station. See ya Sunday, pussy.” _ The phone call ended abruptly.

_ That motherfucker… I hope, for his sake, that he doesn’t try to pull anything on me. If Irimi-san’s right, though, I better watch my back... _

* * *

 

Izuku didn’t know whether the train ride to Hosu on Sunday was peaceful, or one of the more stressful moments in his life. On one hand, he was riding with Iida, Setsuna, and Momo, and being in the presence of familiar people was slightly calming. Iida chose to intern with Manual, the Normal Hero, and was sitting across from Izuku. Setsuna, sitting to his left with her head in his lap, went with Uwabami, alongside Momo, to Setsuna’s left. It was a total coincidence, that they both chose the same Hero Agency, and that all four of them were going to be in the same city. On the other hand…

“I really hope you aren’t here to start some shit, Shigaraki.”

“Oh-hoh? You recognized me, Izu-kun? My, my, aren’t you sharp?” the hooded Villain asked playfully. Momo and Iida, who knew the name, jumped in fright, eyes wide as they stared at the blue-haired man. Setsuna, confused, sat up straight.

“Huh? Who’s that?” Setsuna asked out loud.

“T-that’s Shigaraki Tomura- he’s the one behind the attack on the U.S.J!”

Setsuna shot to her feet, fists raised and ready to activate her Quirk.

“So, I’m not allowed to cause trouble, but it’s perfectly fine if you guys start it? Man, talk about pretentious.”

Izuku sighed. “Setsuna, relax. He won’t do anything in public. You and Momo go sit next to Iida though, just in case.”

“What about you, Midoriya-kun?” Momo asked fearfully, doing as he commanded. Setsuna still stood in the middle of the car.

“Don’t worry about me. Anyways, don’t call me that, Shigaraki- it’s friggin’ disgusting. And of course I recognized you; nobody else I know smells like rot and desperately needs chapstick.”

“How mean… What’s up with us meeting on trains, though? This is the second time, right?”

“Midoriya-kun! Get away from him! He is a dangerous criminal, with an unknown Quirk! We must call the police!”

Izuku fixed the blue-haired teen with a piercing glare, causing him to falter.

“Don’t worry, Tenya-kun! I’m not here to fight you guys or anything. I just need to get somewhere.”

“You, don’t talk to them,” Izuku commanded Shigaraki. To his peers, he said, “You three, sit there and shut up- put that phone  _ away _ , Iida. The police aren’t gonna be able to do anything.”

“But, Midoriya-kun-!”

“ _ Away. _ The instant Shigaraki’s in trouble, Kurogiri’ll probably pull him out- the dude with the Warp Quirk, remember? Yeah, into your pocket… Good boy. Now sit down and shut up. This is an opportunity to interrogate one of the high-rankers of that stupid League of Villains, and I’m not gonna lose it ‘cause you’re jumpy.”

“Wow, aren’t you brash, Izu-kun? Just blurting out things like that? What if I get scared and start attacking?”

“You won’t. Fast as you are, I’m faster. Try anything and I’ll snap your neck.”

The three students across from him made varying sounds of terror, but thankfully didn’t open their mouths. Izuku would’ve ignored them anyways.

“Why’d you call me a  _ high-ranker _ , Izuku? What, don’t think I’m the leader?”

“No. If you were, you wouldn’t have gone to Anteiku to meet with someone.  _ They _ would have come to  _ you _ . Also, you just don’t seem serious enough for that type of responsibility. The only question is, who is that  _ her _ Kuzen told you about? But whatever, that’s not what I care about. Why are you in Hosu?”

“Maybe I’m just going to see the attractions, ya know?”

“There aren’t any landmarks in Hosu, you dumbass.”

“Who said anything about crusty old buildings?” Shigaraki sounded amused, which was not doing good things for Izuku’s blood pressure.

“You’re being called for another meeting, huh? What, does the League of Villains operate with a council at the head? Pretty pragmatic for a bunch of scum- normally, you guys only have the one crazy dictator running things.”

“Council? No, not at all. You’re right, we only have Sensei leading us, but that’s not why I’m here. You’re getting closer, though…”

“Closer? So, still on the subject of meeting people. If you’re not going to see a superior, then the only way left is down, so it must be subordinates…”

Shigaraki whirled his fingers in a  _ go on _ gesture.

“No, not subordinates,  _ possible _ subordinates. You’re out recruiting?”

Shigaraki clapped his hands together once. “Congratulations, Izuku! You’re smarter than a fifth grader! Yeah, I’m out recruiting. Ever since the mess at the U.S.J, we lost a lot of members. Including the Nomu, whose whereabouts we  _ still _ don’t know. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No problem. Always happy to be a pain in the ass.”

“Now, there’s still a long way left to Hosu. So, wanna try and guess who I’m after?”

“Dunno if that’ll work- I’m not familiar with the Hosu Underground. But, I suppose I can give a try. Let’s see… You said you were here to  _ see the attractions _ , but you were referring to a person. That means it’s someone who’s high profile enough to catch your attention, but that still doesn’t mean anything to me unless they’re being talked about on the media. I don’t get news through the same channels as you, so unless this mystery person or people is blowing up online, I won’t know about them.”

Shigaraki shrugged, spreading his arms across the backrests. “Yeah, I figured that’s about as far as you’d get. You don’t exactly strike me as someone who cares about something unless it directly affects you, so I wasn’t expecting much. I’ll give you a hint, though; one of your friends knows something.”

Izuku tore his gaze away from Shigaraki, moving to stare at his friend and two acquaintances. Momo and Setsuna shook their head, indicating that they had no clue what the Villain was talking about. Izuku ignored the terror etched into their faces for the moment, in favor of studying Iida. The other boy had been suspiciously quiet, refusing to look Izuku in the eye, and seemingly very uncomfortable with the topic.

Finally, Izuku looked back to Shigaraki. “Well, if they do, they don’t seem to want to share, so we’ll drop that topic for now.”

“ _ Lame. _ ”

“How come Kurogiri didn’t Warp you? Going to another out-of-the-way place?”

“Nah, Kurogiri could’ve taken me. I just wanted to fuck with you. Those other three were a nice bonus, though; didn’t expect to get to terrify the shit out of some innocent little children.”

“Man, you’re weird.”

* * *

 

“Iida,” Izuku said sharply, cutting through any complaints the boy was about to throw his way. “I don’t appreciate you keeping vital information from me, but I’ll let it slide. However, I want you to promise me one thing.”

Iida’s mouth was opened to protest, but it clicked shut, and he nodded wearily.

“Make sure you inform the Heroes that something big might be going down here, soon. Tell them to be prepared.”

A wave to Momo, a pat on Setsuna’s head, and Izuku was gone from the train station like a wraith. His three peers remained huddled together, the fear of being in close proximity with a Villain with an unknown Quirk not yet having drained from them. They didn’t know when it would. Still, they were Heroes-in-training, so they had to be able to move past this, even if they couldn’t forget it entirely. They exchanged numbers- just in case- and the three went their separate ways.

* * *

 

The 24th Ward was located in the slums of Hosu, far from the city center. This area was teeming with small-time crime; drug deals, rapes, murders, human trafficking, the likes. Still, there weren’t any Villains running around unchecked, so that seemed to be a sign to the Heroes that everything over here was perfectly fine. Just another peaceful neighborhood, if a bit sketchy.

A block-letter sign was nailed to the wall above the front entrance, proclaiming this as a Hero Agency. However, it definitely didn’t look like one. The building was small, dilapidated, obviously uncared for. Still, there weren’t any holes in it, so that was good enough for Izuku. Pushing through the door, he was immediately assaulted by the stench of blood. Crinkling his nose slightly, he followed the odor, and came across Ayato devouring a human corpse. Fresh, since the blood hadn’t coagulated. There wasn’t even the stench of rot, indicating that this kill had been made within the hour. Idly, Izuku wondered who this unfortunate person was. Perhaps a random, innocent passerby who had never done anything worse in their life than speeding on the highway? Maybe they were actually a serial killer, who operated in back alleys, where anonymity was assured. Whatever they were, they were dead now, body mutilated so horribly that Izuku couldn’t make out any defining features- not even their gender.

How Ayato was a Hero, he would never know. He  _ did _ , however, know that his internship with the Speed Demon; Yamikumo, could only end poorly.

* * *

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

“Sup, brat?”

“Nothing much. Just didn’t expect to walk in on you eating. Shit’s nasty.”

“Whatever. I’d offer you some, but there’s not much left… And, I wouldn’t actually offer you any in the first place, so you can go fuck off to the couch while I finish. We’ll talk later.”

Well, wasn’t this just a great start?

* * *

 

“What’ve you got on Oomori?”

“Oh, no greetings or anythin’? Shitty brat, that’s no way to treat your elders.”

“You are literally the  _ last  _ person in the entire world that should be saying that to me! You’re not even that much older than me!” Ayato was still only nineteen, while Izuku was fifteen.

“Look, there ya go again, mouthin’ off. Learn some damn manners or I ain’t tellin’ ya shit.”

“You serious?”

“Hell yeah.”

Izuku tested this by remaining silent, staring wordlessly at Ayato, for ten minutes. He even tried activating his kakugan to creep the fucker out, but then Ayato turned on his own, so it was sort of negated. Finally, Izuku sighed in irritation.

“Since when did you get so patient, you bastard?”

“That didn’t sound very polite.”

“Fine.  _ Please _ tell me when you got so patient, you bastard. Thank you.”

Ayato just glared at him, and Izuku sighed once more, emptying his lungs in one go.

“Alright... Hey, Ayato, it’s nice to see you. Remember when you told me you knew where Oomori was? I’d appreciate it if you’d please tell me more about that. Thank you.” Izuku even bowed at the waist, and he looked up to find Ayato’s frame shaking with laughter. Eventually, the man gave up on holding it in, and his cackles filled the room.

“What the  _ fuck _ was  _ that!? _ You sounded like such a rich-bitch! Ha!”

Izuku gritted his teeth, but said nothing. Ayato was petty enough that he’d actually refuse to cooperate if he attacked him now. He just had to weather out this storm of embarrassment, and then they’d be on their way.

“Hoo… Whew… Alright, I think I’m done. Holy shit… Okay, I’m gonna go clean up, and then we can leave.” Ayato was panting heavily, doubled over and pressing his palms against his knees.

_ Finally _ .

* * *

 

The sun was already setting when the two left the building. The train ride to Hosu had taken a good few hours, and Ayato loved to primp, so he also took another few hours. Seriously, the man’s Hero costume consisted of jeans, combat boots, a leather jacket with a t-shirt underneath, a scarf, and his black rabbit mask. It wasn’t the most complicated thing in the world. But  _ no _ , he had to do his hair up all nice, combing it back, then locking it in place with hair gel and hair spray, and maybe add a bit of cologne in there because who knew he just might run into a nice girl and it simply wouldn’t do to stink of rotting corpses-!

Izuku held back another sigh, figuring that doing it constantly was probably bad for his health in some way, shape, or form. Instead, he rubbed at his forehead, willing the impending headache to kindly fuck off for later. Or never. Never was preferable.

WIth their incredible leg strength, the two ghouls bounced up the side of the 24th Ward building, using it as a platform to jump to the roofs of other buildings. The hopped around for a while, Izuku following Ayato, before the teen finally got irritated and pulled ahead to level with the Hero.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Izuku asked, scowling furiously. He didn’t want to waste anymore time.

“Of course- you think I’m retarded or something?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

“Just shut up and follow me, you shitty brat.”

* * *

 

They were running around in the center of Hosu, amongst all the hustle and bustle as the night crowd came out to play. Prostitutes stood at the entrance to alleyways, while others were further back, servicing customers. Or getting beaten up. Either one. Ayato only helped if he thought the whore was pretty enough. Izuku would have ignored them completely, but was forced to keep stopping when his “mentor” did. He even had to intervene one time when the latest save got a bit handsy, and Ayato was all too welcoming of her advances. The Hero’s belt was unbuckled when Izuku sent down his kagune to snatch up the horny rabbit, receiving a sold thump to the head for interfering. Still, it kept them on track.

A drug deal was happening on one rooftop, and the ghouls perched on a neighboring building to assess the situation. Finally, Ayato got bored. He jumped in and knocked everyone out, then proceeded to rummage through their pockets, grabbing all the cash he could. Finally, he tied them up with a nearby metal railing, and called the police. Hopefully, one of the dealers didn’t have a Strength Quirk, or the police would probably just think it was a prank call. Izuku was pretty sure he saw something like ten-thousand yen in his mentor’s hand, but it went into Ayato’s pocket so quickly he couldn’t be sure.

A convenience store robbery was ended by chucking a mailbox at the fleeing criminal, knocking them out and scattering paper everywhere. Hopefully, no passerby would pick up a random letter containing somebody’s social security number or something. Maybe using a mailbox  _ wasn’t _ the best idea…

For a hit-n-run, Izuku used his kagune on Ayato’s order, stabbing them into the back tires of the car, dragging it backwards. The driver was knocked out from his head pitching forward and slamming into the steering wheel with the force of a thousand suns. He probably had a concussion. They turned his car off, and left it to idle on the streets while the police came. The rear end of the vehicle looked like nothing more than a hunk of scrap metal with a license plate.

Finally, they left the bright lights of the city, heading towards the warehouse sector. At the nearby docks, a small human trafficking ring was found. That had been a bit of a challenge, because one of the thugs had a Quirk which allowed him to freeze people in place so long as direct eye contact was made. Blinking broke the spell, as well as cutting line-of-sight for even a moment. Unfortunately, the bastard seemed to have a Secondary Quirk which reduced or eliminated his need to blink, because that stare-off lasted long past the point when Izuku’s eyes began to burn with hellfire.

Ayato had been occupied by a trio with Speed Quirks, making them difficult targets to get with non-lethal force. Meanwhile, Izuku had been frozen, and couldn’t even call for help.

It had been a while before Izuku was freed. In that time, a thug with Knife-Fingers swaggered up to him, obviously cocky since his buddy had caught him. The Freddy Krueger wannabe thought he was hot shit, gently caressing Izuku’s cheek with his blade, a tactic which he’d probably used on many of his past victims to scare them into compliance.

Then, it had gotten weird. He started talking about how excited he was to finally have a boytoy to play with. Apparently, the bosses didn’t want to cater to his preference for young males, so he was rarely ever allowed to enjoy himself. Instead, the thug had to listen to his buddies go on about which tight hole they wanted to break in next, while he himself had to make do with a sock and some lotion. What made it even worse was how Izuku had been forced to stare into some other dude’s eyes, so the thug was able to whisper into his ear without a problem. He even  _ groped _ the teen, his sharp digits scratching up Izuku’s pants. The tears running down his face were likely being caused by more than intense dry eye at this point.

Ayato eventually noticed his intern’s problem, and chucked one of the criminals at Edward Scissorhands, sending them both flying. It just so happened they stumbled in front of the guy with the Ocular Quirk, freeing Izuku. In an instant, all three of them were unconscious, his kagune having lashed out with blinding speed, fueled by rage. He may have hit them a bit harder than he’d planned, if the blood pooling around their heads was any indication. Izuku would just pretend he was too busy dealing with his burning eyes to notice that little fact.

The fight eventually ended, and Ayato was able to show that he wasn’t a  _ complete _ degenerate by not hitting on any of the victims, who had been trapped in a storage container nearby. Although they cried and hugged him, he didn’t move a finger to touch them in any fashion that could be considered inappropriate. Even while they waited for the police to come and sort this whole mess out, Ayato didn’t make any kind of sign that he was lusting for one of the poor girls, who were dressed in ragged clothing that did nothing to hide their well-developed bodies. For a moment, Izuku almost felt proud of his mentor… Then he remembered it was Ayato.

Tingle of pride promptly extinguished, he followed the Pro Hero around the warehouse district a bit more. They stopped on the roof of one storage building, Ayato crouching down and peering into the skylight. Izuku crawled next to him, doing the same.

“What’re we looking at?” Izuku asked after a moment. All he saw was darkness.

“You don’t see that?” Ayato questioned incredulously.

“Well, sorry if my night vision’s not up to scratch- I haven’t exactly been spending much time underground.”

Yamikumo shook his head condescendingly. “Ya know, if you had stayed in Tokyo, ya wouldn’t be havin’ this problem.”

“You know  _ exactly  _ why I left,” Izuku growled, fingers twitching with the urge to throttle his mentor.

Rather than reply, Ayato raised a finger to the mouth of his black rabbit mask, urging Izuku to be quiet. He hunched closer to the skylight, silent with concentration. Then, out of nowhere, he slammed a fist into the glass, shattering it.

Before the shards could fall more than a few meters, Ayato had dropped through the hatch. Izuku followed suit a moment later, confused. They landed in the darkness- for Izuku, that is. Ayato’s well-adjusted eyes granted him blessed sight, which Izuku wished he could have at the moment.

All the night vision in the world wouldn’t save him, however, when he felt a sharp pain at the back of neck, and the shadows flooded his eyes.

* * *

 

Awareness came back slowly, and it brought white light with it. Izuku had to shut his eyes, unable to handle the sudden brightness. He groaned, his head pounding. He tried to bring a hand up to massage his temples, but found they wouldn’t move. He could still feel all his fingers, however, so did that mean he was chained?

Bracing himself, Izuku forced his eyelids open, doing his best to only squint instead of closing them all the way again. Raising his head off the surface it rested against, Izuku found that, yes, his hands  _ were  _ restrained. His hands were down by his waist, the wrists cuffed with hardly any wiggle room. His ankles were also chained, but luckily, his legs were still relatively close together, and not spread wide. That was something to take comfort in, at least.

Still, where the hell was he? Bright lights, handcuffs, and the concrete table he lay on didn’t tell him much. He had been captured, that much was obvious, but by who? He remembered dropping into that warehouse after Ayato, but then…  _ Something _ happened. What had happened to Ayato? Whoever did it must’ve been pretty fast to get past him- he was called the Speed Demon for a reason. Then he realized he had no shirt.

“God, I  _ really _ hope this isn’t some type of sex dungeon…” Izuku muttered out loud, dropping his head back against the table he was attached to.

A chuckle behind him startled the teen, and he tried to jump up, but the cuffs just yanked him back down.

“I assure you, it’s nothing of the sort, Izuku-kun.”

Why did that voice sound familiar? Izuku did his best to look behind him, maneuvering until the top of his head was touching the table, while his torso was raised so that his neck would allow the movement. He made inverted eye contact with an old man. His grey hair was slicked back, with only a few fringes hanging over his forehead. His face was slightly wrinkled, cheeks a bit gaunt, but he looked well for someone that age. He wore a white lab coat.

Izuku’s emerald eyes were drawn to movement by the man’s hands. His aged fingers were fiddling with numerous sharp objects, arranging them in arbitrary orders, occasionally grabbing a cloth to polish one that had stains only seen by his sharp eye. Finally, the man put down the last of the utensils, and rolled the cart they were on over to sit next to Izuku’s table, and the teen was able to remember why he recognized this person.

“Dr. Kanou?”

“Ah, so you remember me, Izuku-kun? It’s been so long, I wasn’t sure if you would… Well, long for you. A decade isn’t much for me, considering how old I am.” Kanou chuckled lightly, a sound which would have been pleasant if not for the situation they were in. “Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what you’re doing here?”

Izuku nodded wordlessly, not sure if he should have even done that much. Then again, it wasn’t like there was much else he could do, and it was always nice to get some information, which Kanou seemed to be offering freely.

“Well, I’ve been busy in the years since your mother called upon me. A few close runs with the police and Pro Heroes has gotten me thinking; I may have been a bit too rash with my experimentation back then. I didn’t hold back a bit, doing all sorts of things to anyone I could get my hands on, including the patients from my legitimate job. I’ve turned more than a few into Ghouls, which was, perhaps, not the brightest idea on my part. It drew far too much attention when people with loved ones disappeared suddenly. So, I’ve been forced to narrow my options. I now only take people who won’t be missed; the homeless, orphans, street thugs, the like. I’ve even made a few deals with the police to get a few Death Row prisoners.

“Of course, all these people had Quirks, and they were  _ so _ interesting. Some of the younger ones could have even gone on to become Pro Heroes! Not anymore, obviously, since they’re locked up in my cells and can no longer use their Quirks, but that’s really not important. It’s what I do with them, what I do  _ to _ them- what I’m going to do to  _ you _ , Izuku-kun.

“After turning them into Ghouls, their regeneration has helped me quite a bit. I’ve been able to harvest their organs repeatedly, and then transplant them into my legitimate patients. As a result, I’ve become quite renowned for my ability to help those in need of fresh organs, and the money is simply  _ flowing _ ! The best part is, the patients don’t turn into Ghouls, since they don’t have a kakuhou. It’s quite nice, to be honest, and I don’t plan on giving that up any time soon. Unfortunately, life likes to throw wrenches into my plans, and recently, one of my unwilling donors has died from refusing to eat. Nothing I can really do about that except move on. It just so happens that this donor was about one-hundred eighty centimeters tall, and you two have such similar body shapes… Well, when I saw you on tv during the U.A Sports Festival- congratulations for winning that, by the way- I simply knew I had to have you. Oh, it seems you understand where I’m going with this, Izuku-kun. In that case, I’ll stop talking and get on with it.”

Izuku’s eyes had steadily been getting wider as Kanou droned on, until they threatened to pop out of their sockets. Likewise, his jaw went slack, lolling around by the joint it was attached to. His muscles had become jelly, and he fell down to the table, back making full contact with it. However, when he saw the glint of steel in Kanou’s hand, he began to struggle, yanking on the cuffs for all he was worth. He knew that he was strong enough to rip them off like soggy paper, and yet, they wouldn’t give.

“Ah, those have been specially designed to hold down people with Strength Quirks. I’m told they could even restrain All Might- not that I’ll be testing that. Along with the RC Suppressors which disable your kagune, I’m afraid you won’t be escaping by yourself.”

Still, Izuku struggled, pulling and rattling the short chains. He was bucking like a bull, head occasionally slamming into the concrete underneath him. Still, Kanous approached. When the doctor put the tip of a scalpel against Izuku’s stomach, the teen froze, despite the fact that he knew simple steel shouldn’t be able to cut him.

And then, against all odds, it  _ did _ . It was a tiny incision, equivalent to a papercut. There wasn’t even blood. What worried Izuku the most was that Kanou hadn’t seemed to put any pressure into it. The scalpel sliced him open with hardly any effort, and the blade was still pristine. Then, Kanou did push harder, and skin separated with ease as he dragged the small knife down Izuku’s stomach. A thin line of blood bubbled up, and Izuku whimpered, fear consuming him.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, Izuku-kun. Unfortunately, you won’t be getting any anaesthetic; that is reserved for my  _ actual _ patients, you see. Also, I quite like entertainment while I work.”

With a flourish, Kanou dug in with his scalpel. Then, with practiced movements, he separated the skin using his gloved hands. A few pins were pushed into the flaps, stapling them to Izuku’s sides, revealing his internal organs to the outside air. His heart was quivering, beating so fast it looked more like it was just trembling.

Izuku’s teeth were gritted so hard that a few of them cracked, and tears streamed down his face, darkening the concrete under him. Kanou noticed the teen’s clenched jaw, and smiled. He wasn’t wearing a surgical mask, so his face was clear to see.

“Please, scream as loud as you can.”

* * *

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

Sometimes, Izuku hated his insane regeneration. Like now, for instance. Kanou kept poking around at Izuku’s innards, sawing through a few regrown ribs here, pulling out a vital organ there, and within a half hour, it was perfectly healed. Well, except for the gaping hole in his chest. But that wasn’t healing because all the skin was still attached- just not exactly where it was supposed to be. 

“Let’s see… That’s ten lungs, seventeen livers, eight stomachs, fourteen pancreas’, fifteen kidneys, three hundred meters of intestines, and even a heart! I’m impressed, Izuku-kun. Your regeneration is honestly amazing. Even now, the missing parts are growing back, albeit slower than before. I suspect you’re running low on RC cells, so if I want to snag anymore hearts, I’ll need to make sure you’re well fed. Still, all this from only a day’s work! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m somewhat of a mess.” Kanou gestured at the pool of blood which had soaked his lab coat and clothes, and the puddles all over the floor and table. Not that Izuku was really in much of a state to be processing any of that, having long since passed out from the pain. His head had lulled to the side, saliva and spittle running down his cheek, while the whites of his wide-opened eyes were on full display. Kanou idly pulled out the pins which prevented Izuku from completely healing, halfheartedly placing the flaps together. Within moments, they stitched themselves together, the teen no longer in danger of being eviscerated just by sitting up. Then, he quickly undid the handcuffs.

“Taro-kun! If you don’t mind, would you please take Izuku to Cell 1?”

“Papa!” a guttural voice cried, lumbering out of the shadows. It was massive, head covered in a cloth mask with eye, ear, and nose holes cut out. Its gut was gargantuan, larger than Izuku, bulging and jiggling with every single motion. Even when it took a breath, its flab wiggled disgustingly. The skin on its arms was also stretched to the limit, though that was due to mountains of muscles. It wore a pair of elastic pants, which threatened to rip if it moved the wrong way, held up by a single leather strap attached to its cloth mask.

To put it simply, Taro was massive. It- for it was far too distorted to even be called a male, let alone a human- picked up Izuku with one hand, the thick fingers wrapping all the way around the boy’s naked torso. Taro’s hands were large enough to dwarf a bear’s paws. Then, without a care in the world, it simply began carrying the boy like a child carries a limp doll, heedless of the way the teen’s fingertips grazed the concrete floor, or the way his feet dragged.

It took a few minutes to reach their destination. The repeated experiments and enhancements had turned Taro into something of an idiot, his brain hardly functioning. He could barely remember where the cell block was, but eventually, he figured it out. Fumbling with the tiny key, he was  _ just _ able to open the barred door without breaking anything, toss Izuku in with the force of a cannonball, then close the cage. Taro left to get new orders from Papa. Meanwhile, the occupants of cell were crowding around the unconscious new person.

* * *

 

Izuku woke with a start, shooting into a sitting position the instant he was aware he was lying down. He was sitting on something hard, and a glance down confirmed it was yet more concrete. Did Kanou have access to someone with a Quirk similar to Cementoss?

Remembering Kanou, Izuku’s hand rocketed towards his chest, connecting with the muscles loudly. He patted himself down quickly, sighing with relief that he was no longer being dissected. He could also move, so he took advantage of that by climbing to his feet. He did a few stretches, touching his toes, then finally began to look around. In hindsight, that should’ve been the first thing he did, but he was a bit more occupied with the fact that he wasn’t being cut apart on a lab table anymore.

The first thing he noticed was the iron bars, since the only light in the room came from that direction. It was a simple jail cell, although maybe there was less space between the vertical bars than what he’d seen on television. Then, he noticed he wasn’t alone.

Spinning on his heel, he made eye contact with the person closest to him, who was kneeling on the ground. It was a girl with purple eyes and hair. She was squinting at him for some reason.

Behind her were two more girls, who seemed a fair bit younger. One had black hair, the other white, mostly hidden under hoods of the same color. They looked incredibly similar- identical twins? Next to them was a girl who didn’t quite seem Japanese. The shape of her eyes was a bit different, slightly more narrow. She also had black hair, but her bangs hung just above her eyes, the longer portions framing her face or pulled into a ponytail. She was glaring at hm for some reason.

Finally, there was a boy, who was staring at him intensely. Well, they were all staring- or glaring, in the not-Japanese girl’s case- but his gaze was piercing. He had blue hair, and a kind smile was curling his lips upwards, but it seemed to be more the natural state of his face than an actual sign of happiness. His eyes did not reflect the same emotion as his false smile.

They were all, with the exception of the purple-haired girl, sitting on the beds which lined the walls. There were two rows of three, making for a total of six beds; enough for every cellmate, including the newest one. Talk about coincidence. The beds each had a mattress, and was covered with soft blankets and one plush pillow. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor.

Unsure what to do, Izuku waved awkwardly. The twins huddled closer to each other, shuffling slightly away until their backs hit the wall their bed hung from. The angry girl got angrier, and Izuku wondered if she was distantly related to Katsuki. The boy’s face did not change, nor did his posture shift. He was like a statue.

The purple-haired girl, however, seemed to surprise everyone by climbing to her feet. All eyes were on her now, as she took a few steps forward, squinting harder than ever. She ended up stopping when she stood directly in front of him. Izuku thought about stepping back a bit, but figured there must have been a reason for her to be doing this. That, or she was just crazy. Spending an unspecified amount of time in a cell in between sessions of having your organs harvested would probably do that to someone.

Then, she reached up, and starting yanking on his hair.

“Ow. Ow!  _ Ow! _ Stop that!” Izuku finally yelled, after on particularly hard yank pulled out a chunk of his green locks. Luckily, his regeneration kicked in, so he wouldn’t have to go around with a bald spot, but it was still annoying.

“Green…?” she murmured quietly, turning the hair in her hands over. She began petting it, and Izuku was officially creeped out.

“Um… Yeah?”

“I think I knew someone who had green hair… But I only saw him once, when we were young.”

Izuku pondered that admittance. “I don’t know if that was me, but... Does the name Izuku mean anything to you?”

Her head snapped up, eyes glistening with moisture. She nodded rapidly, and suddenly, the pieces fell into place.

One of Kanou’s prisoners, who had been in this position since a young age, who had purple hair…

“...RIze?”

Izuku almost had a heart attack when the girl slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his bare torso. He almost launched himself backwards to break her hold, but noticed that she was shaking. Then, he heard the sobs, which was slightly more difficult since Rize had buried her face in his stomach.

“Rize!?” he cried, slightly panicked. He didn’t exactly know how to deal with crying girls- then again, he didn’t think  _ any _ male did. He put his hands on her shoulders, carefully prying her off him so he could see her face. It was a mess of tears and mucus, some of which had gotten on his abs, but he’d worry about that later.

“Rize, what’s wrong?” he asked gently. She rubbed furiously at her eyes, sniffling pitifully.

“I just… I never knew if you survived… Dr. Kanou only let me see you after he did the surgery, but you were asleep, and nobody knew if you’d wake up since that was one of Dr. Kanou’s first times implanting a kakuhou and…!”

She broke down again, and Izuku didn’t even think about stopping her from hugging him this time. He was a bit too unbalanced after that revelation.  _ That was an experimental procedure? Mom must not have known, otherwise she’d never allow it... Unless she  _ didn’t _ allow it, but Kanou did it anyway...? Nah, he wouldn’t be alive if that was the case. _

Absentmindedly, Izuku wrapped his arms around Rize, stroking the back of her head. His mind was gone, and they stood like that long after Rize’s tears ran dry.

* * *

 

“Would you happen to be  _ Midoriya _ Izuku?” the blue-haired boy asked, snapping Izuku out of his trance.

“Um, what?”

“Is your surname Midoriya?” he repeated, somehow not sounding annoyed.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I saw you on TV.”

Izuku blinked. TV? Since when did prisoners have access to TV? The boy pointed to a place behind Izuku, and he turned, still maintaining his grip on Rize. There, on the wall behind him, was a massive flat screen. It looked to have at least a three meter diagonal. There were a few couches and a coffee table in front of it.

“...How did I miss all of that?”

“It is odd that you ended up here. Dr. Kanou has told us many times that he only takes people who likely won’t be missed. If you, a student of U.A, the most well-known Hero School in Japan, were to go missing, I think a lot of people would notice.”

Izuku scowled at the reminder of his position, mostly because it was unnecessary- it was hard to forget he was in a  _ friggin’ jail cell _ , after all. “I’ve got no clue how Kanou’s mind works. Maybe that bastard finally went around the bend, or maybe he just doesn’t care anymore.”

“It’s nothing like that, children.”

Everyone jumped, even the blue-haired boy, and turned to look at the iron bars. On the other side stood Kanou himself, with that fat bastard at his side. Kanou was smiling genially, which pissed Izuku off. He growled lowly, causing Rize, still in his arms, to shiver slightly.

“I merely wanted to check the progress of my greatest experiment to date. And if I happened to feel like taking advantage of his regeneration, well… That’s just my right, isn’t it? After all,  _ I created you _ .”

For a second, the old man’s lip separated, revealing his teeth in a predatory smile. However, it vanished just as quickly, morphing back into the pleasant facade. Izuku knew he wasn’t hallucinating, though. That face would be burned into his memory until the day he died.

“Anyways, I’m simply here to deliver food. Taro-kun, if you would?”

“Papa!” the lardass cried, fumbling for a few moments to open the cell door. While the other occupants of the cell shrunk back, Izuku let go of Rize and launched himself at Taro. He slammed a fist into its face, causing its head to snap to the side with a guttural cry of pain. Then, while tubby was distracted, he vaulted himself over its shoulder, straight at Kanou.

His fingers were millimeters from Kanou’s throat, when he suddenly found himself launched into the ceiling, pain exploding in his gut. Blood rocketed out of his throat, and he found himself without strength. He remained in the ceiling, back lodged into the stone, and staring into the dead eyes of someone who hadn’t been there before.

It was a large man, standing a bit taller than Kanou. His shoulders were broad, body packed with muscles, and completely naked. He didn’t seem to have any type of genitalia, though, so it didn’t really matter. The thing that stood out to Izuku, however, was how the man’s leg was raised, indicating that he must have kicked Izuku in the gut while the boy was flying through the air.

Kanou didn’t seem ruffled in the slightest, clapping slowly and chuckling. “My, my, a good showing, Izuku-kun! If Okahira-kun had intervened even a moment later, I suspect I would be dead!”

Okahira continued to stare at him with those blank eyes, and hatred welled up within Izuku. He forced his body to move, slamming his arms against the ceiling to propel himself at the naked muscle-man. Izuku lashed out with a fist, but only succeeded in burying it into the floor when Okahira wasn’t there anymore. Hs head snapped back forcefully, and he felt a few of the vertebrate snapping. Then, before he could comprehend what was happening, his face was pressing against the cool concrete, arms pulled behind his back and held there by insanely strong restraints. He tried pulling himself free, but stopped when he nearly dislocated a shoulder. With an aggravated howl, Izuku went limp, breathing heavy in his rage.

“So much energy, Izuku-kun… My, to be young. Okahira-kun, please bring Izuku-kun back into the cell. Break his legs to ensure he can’t try anything like that again.”

Two loud snaps later, Izuku was writhing on the concrete in pain. His healing was drastically slower than normal, so by the time he could stand up again, Kanou and his subordinates were long gone. A tray of bloody meat was on the floor next to him, and he descended upon it ravenously. Within moments, only a small puddle of crimson liquid was left to indicate that anything had been there in the first place. With a furious exhale, Izuku lay down on the concrete, arms crossed over his chest. He glared silently at the ceiling, not even twitching when Rize knelt next to his head.

“Izuku… Are you okay?” she asked, her voice small.

“No.”

“...Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” Rize smiled a bit at how petulant he sounded.

“Well, when you’re ready, I’ll be here.” She began to fiddle with his hair, thankfully not yanking on it like before. She combed through the knots, then continued running her fingers through the green locks long after they were mostly untangled.

Against his will, Izuku became drowsy, Rize’s ministrations lulling him into relaxation. His head fell to the side, and his forehead was pressing against Rize’s bony knee. With his scowl slowly melting away, he fell asleep.

He had no clue what tomorrow would bring, but he had a distinct feeling that, whatever it was, it was going to be pure hell.

* * *

 

It was worse than hell. Kanou must’ve been feeling particularly vicious after Izuku’s stunt, because the boy woke up with a knife in his eye. He screamed, moving to yank it out, but found that he was restrained once more. The knife was removed by the old man, and his eye regenerated quickly, taking the pain away. Raising his head to look around, he found himself chained to the concrete table.

“Oh, you’re awake? Good, I wouldn’t want you to miss this.” Kanou was wearing proper surgical attire today, complete with goggles, surgical mask, and rubber gloves- not those shitty latex ones.

A quick slash opened the skin on Izuku’s chest, which was peeled aside and pinned to his sides. Next, Kanou picked up an incredibly sharp bonesaw from the table. Every few motions, it lopped off a new rib, which was tossed carelessly to the floor. White dust was sent flying up with every motion, some of which the teen inhaled in his wheezes of pain, and within a minute, Izuku’s ribcage was mostly gone.

“We’ll start with the heart today, since I want to get a few of those. They go for quite a high price on the black market, you know.”

The blood vessels connected to the heart were thick, but the material was quite soft, easily cut apart by a pair of scissors. More ichor gushed into the open chest cavity with every vein and artery severed, until Kanou was able to yank the muscle out, dropping it carelessly into a tank filled with liquid.

For a long while, Izuku felt himself growing cold. His blood went still in his veins, chilling each of his limbs until he could no longer feel them. As far as he knew, they were no longer attached. His lungs wouldn’t function properly. With no blood pumping, they couldn’t carry oxygen to the rest of his body, and darkness began creeping into his vision, slowly crawling from the edges towards the center. His desperate gasps were coming quicker, each one less effective than the last, until he simply stopped breathing. Izuku laid there, nearly dead, inhaling to no avail. A small part of his brain wondered if he was going to die in the next few moments, and was filled with regrets. He was still so young, and there were so many things he had to do, so many loose ends to tie up. The rest of his brain had already shut down, and his ability to think was fading fast.

Then, the world snapped back into focus, and he filled his lungs with as much air as he could. Well, lung, singular. Kanou had ripped one out while the teen was on his deathbed. With his blood flowing once more, oxygen began to circulate throughout his body, and he could  _ feel _ .

Unfortunately, the ability to feel included feeling pain, which was made quite clear when his face began to burn. His vision vanished due to his eyes disintegrating. He screamed, then choked when stomach acid was poured into his wide-open mouth. It dissolved his teeth, chewed through his tongue, seared his gums, and corroded his vocal chords. By pure reflex, he swallowed, and was treated to the acid eating away at his esophagus. Izuku screamed again, but noise did not come out.

“You looked like you needed a pick-me-up, Izuku-kun, and I figured hydrochloric acid would work better than coffee. Plus, I had to get rid of it  _ somehow _ ; I can’t very well store a stomach when it’s full of the stuff, and it seemed like such a  _ waste  _ to just dump it in a biohazard bin. Don’t you agree?”

Izuku couldn’t answer if he wanted to- not that he did. He also couldn’t curse at the doctor, since his larynx had yet to grow back.

At some point, Izuku’s eyes grew back, and he got a front row view to Kanou tugging on his intestines like it was a rope, pulling with one hand, then the next, wrapping it all around a spool. Once he reached the end, Kanou severed the digestive tract from whatever it was connected to, setting the roll aside.

Then, the doctor picked up his scalpel, and went back to work.

* * *

 

His face was burning again.

“Wake up, Izuku-kun! We’re nowhere  _ near _ done yet!”

* * *

 

“Ah. Your regeneration seems to be slowing. Here, eat this.”

A few of his own livers were stuffed into his mouth, and despite his rational mind screaming at him not to, he swallowed it all down.

“There we go! Such a good boy, Izuku-kun!”

* * *

 

More stomach acid.

“Honestly, I’m a bit worried with how many times I’ve had to wake you up. You teenagers and your irregular sleeping schedules…”

* * *

 

“I don’t know how I didn’t notice before, but your eyes are the most  _ beautiful _ shade of green! In fact, I’d even go far enough as to call it  _ emerald _ ! I think I know a few people who would appreciate being able to see that every time they looked in the mirror.”

* * *

 

“It looks like you’ve been taking quite good care of your teeth, Izuku-kun! They’re like white pearls! They’d make for some high quality dentures… Maybe I should consider going into dentistry?”

* * *

 

This time, he was eating his own heart.

“Hm… Perhaps that was a bit too big? It took you two bites to get it down. I think we’ll stick with the livers; they regenerate incredibly quickly… Ah, well. Things to worry about in the future. For now, I’ll need to pull out another heart…”

* * *

 

“Oh! I just had a wonderful idea! What if I were to remove your kakuhou, wait for a new one to grow back, and then implant the old one elsewhere? I could artificially manufacture a chimera… Now I’m excited! Let’s do it!”

* * *

 

“That went incredibly smoothly- sometimes I impress myself! Tomorrow, we’ll test out your new capabilities. For now, though, go to sleep, Izuku-kun. You’ve done good work today, my boy.”

* * *

 


	17. Chapter 17

Day three began a little differently. Izuku actually woke up of his own volition, and found himself staring into the apathetic face of Okahira. He screamed in terror and rage, lashing out at the naked man, but found himself on the floor before his fist even got close to connecting. This time, he attempted to use his kagune, but because of the RC Suppressors, it wouldn’t emerge. He tried and tried, squirming the whole while, but ultimately gave up.

The commotion woke up the other cell occupants, who all made varied sounds of fear when they saw one of their own being assaulted. They didn’t interfere, however. They’d all been on the receiving end of Taro’s fists; they had no desire to have Okahira, who was physically superior to Taro in every way, be set on them.

“Aren’t you lively on this fine morning, Izuku-kun?” Kanou asked, standing at the door of the cell as usual. “That’s good- you’ll need that energy to perform to your limit. Today, we’ll be testing your new kakuhou. Okahira-kun, please bring Izuku-kun and follow me. Children, if you wish to follow, you may.” After years in his custody, Kanou trusted his little organ farms to be obedient. Besides, Taro would be bringing up the rear, and they wouldn’t dare try anything.

The odd group wandered through the halls at a leisurely pace, though the image of a peaceful stroll was ruined by Izuku. The teen kept shouting and growling fiercely, doing his best to get free of Okahira’s vice-grip, resulting in the doll slamming his face into the concrete walls or floor every few meters. Kanou was actually slightly impressed. It had been some time since he’d had the pleasure of looking after a volatile inmate. His… _Experienced_ _ones,_ had already been broken. They never resisted anymore, and Kanou honestly found it a bit boring. Of course, he’d never encourage them to be rebellious, but he still vastly enjoyed the breath of fresh air which was Midoriya Izuku.

After a few more loud minutes, in which the other children continued watching with fascinated horror as Izuku was manhandled, they reached a hallway with a glass wall. It was a window, looking into a large white room, with nothing in it.

“Children, you stay here. I’ll be back in a moment. Taro-kun, watch them.”

“Papa!”

“Okahira-kun, come along.”

The old man directed his servant to another door, a fair bit away. It was massive, made of titanium, with all types of reinforcements. Opening it took a good minute of scanners and clicking locks, but finally, it swung open. Okahira dragged Izuku into the room, and Kanou closed the gate behind them. He walked back over to the observation hall, and clicked a button on the panel sticking out from the wall beneath the window.

* * *

 

When Okahira let go of Izuku, the teen instantly turned on his heel and lashed out with a kick. It was dodged easily, and Izuku was punched across the room, slamming into the concrete wall with concussive force. He climbed to his feet instantly, legs bent at the knee. He was about to jump at the muscular man again, but the amplified voice of Kanou made him freeze.

“Do wait a moment before you try and attack Okahira-kun, Izuku-kun. I’m afraid with all the RC Suppressors running through your system, you won’t be able to fight at an optimal level. I’ll be releasing the antidote now, so give it a little bit to work.”

A few concrete panels on the wall opened mechanically, hoses hiding behind them. With the click of another button, the hiss of pressurized gas could be heard, and a green mist emerged from the pipes.

Izuku held himself in check while he let the drugs do their work. Perhaps it was a bit foolish, to let himself get gassed by the man who had been torturing him, but he knew Kanou honestly wanted to see him fight at his best. That man wouldn’t bother lying, not when he was the one with all the power. He was something of an egomaniac.

Suddenly, Izuku felt something within him shift. The world became sharper, and his body became lighter than the air. He took a few experimental steps, awed at the ease with which he moved. How had he not noticed before this?

“Wondering how you didn’t realize you were being drugged before?” Kanou asked, his voice louder to Izuku’s suddenly-enhanced hearing. Izuku jumped at being read so easily. “Don’t worry, it happens to many of my patients. Still, I’m impressed that your base strength is high enough that you were able to hurt Taro with ease. Not many of my subjects can claim such power.”

Izuku wanted to curse the man, to shout that he wasn’t  _ one of his subjects _ , but he held his tongue. After yesterday’s experience, he realized it wasn’t a good idea to piss off the man in charge of how much pain he felt. Instead, the teen put that energy towards stretching a bit, pulling his tendons to their absolute limit.

With a flex of his internal muscles, his kagune ripped through his back. However, the dull pain originating in his lower back was accompanied by another, coming from slightly above it, centered around the middle of his torso. That must’ve been the second kakuhou Kanou implanted. Manipulating it was bit odd, since the kakuhou was in a different place, but the actions were more or less the same. With a bit of effort, he was able to bring his kagune forward, allowing him to see it.

There were eight tentacles, though four of them seemed a bit thinner, less durable, than the other half. Those must have been the new ones. It was entirely possible that this new kakuhou had fewer RC Cells to call upon, thus resulting in the weaker appendages. Still, with eight of them, Izuku felt a bit like a spider. As if responding to the idle thought, the tentacles hardened, gaining a visible sheen as they mimicked an arachnid’s exoskeleton. Joints formed halfway between the ends and the bases, and the tips elongated until they looked like spearheads.

“I was expecting the new kagune to express itself as a koukaku, considering its placement… Well, something to note. Okahira-kun is ready for you any time, Izuku-kun.”

Staring at the blank-faced naked man, Izuku allowed his aggravation to make itself known by launching himself with a guttural howl. He crossed the distance in bare moments, slamming a fist into Okahira’s face- the first time he’d successfully hit the man since his imprisonment.

Gleeful at his achievement, Izuku began wailing away at his foe’s face, slapping aside the hands that came up to make a pathetic shield, or the legs that tried to pitifully counterattack. Unlike before, he could actually see Okahira move now, and he was easily faster than Kanou’s enforcer.

The teen continued on like this, splattering blood all over the floor with every blow, until a kick to the stomach sent the puppet flying. He slammed into the wall, cracking the reinforced concrete. Izuku was smiling like a feral animal, the power rushing through his veins giving him a high that no drug could match.

In fact, if Okahira couldn’t handle him...

* * *

 

Rize leaped away from the window, back hitting the wall opposite it, when Izuku slammed into the glass. Fractures spread from the point of impact, but surprisingly, the transparent material held.

Izuku made to fix that, drawing back with four of his spiderlegs- the other four holding him to the wall- and slamming them point-first into the window frame. They pierced it easily, slowly forcing themselves through until the joints could bend, the limbs hooking onto the glass. With a flex, the kagune yanked the window into the massive room, leaving nothing between Izuku and Kanou.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Kanou pressed a button on the control panel. Just as Izuku was drawing back to rocket forward at the doctor, a metal panel slammed down between the two. A moment later, a large object hit the titanium. The noise bounced around in the hall.

Then, something slammed into the barrier again. Barely a split second later, something else made impact, and soon, the metal was shaking from an onslaught. Dents were beginning to poke into the corridor. Rize could vaguely hear Izuku’s animalistic rage, and she could almost make out the insults he was throwing. However, the pounding of metal mostly drowned the words out.

Kanou sighed inaudibly, pushing a few more buttons on his console. In a few seconds, the attack on the metal barrier slowed down, then stopped altogether. Kanou shook his head.

“That boy has a bit too much energy… Anyways, let’s get you children back to your room! No use standing around here; I’ll just wait until Izuku-kun’s tired out from his little fit.”

Rize and the other teens followed Kanou. They didn’t really have much of a choice, with Taro bringing up the rear. The young woman walked through the extensive halls, roars occasionally echoing in her ears as she got further away.

* * *

 

An hour later, Kanou returned to the observation room, and heard nothing but silence on the inside. Not trusting his hearing- he was getting old, after all- he fiddled with some controls, and a screen dropped down from the ceiling. It displayed a camera’s view inside the room, and depicted Izuku lying on a mountain of corpses atop a sea of blood, unconscious. Each body was a carbon-copy of Okahira, the original of which was also dead. His head had been separated from his body, a fate suffered by many of his clones.

Out of the hundred clones in the beginning, including the original, less than a half dozen Okahiras were still alive. Each remaining copy was holding one of Izuku’s limbs.

“Okahira-kun, please bring Izuku-kun to the door,” Kanou said, voice amplified by the microphone.

The four did so promptly, and Kanou met them at the door. Three clones were told to transport all the corpses to the freezers, while the final one carried Izuku back to his cell.

“Still, for him to have taken them all down  _ after _ being dosed with RC Suppressors, especially considering how he hadn’t been able to handle just the one before… Truly, Izuku-kun is my masterpiece.”

* * *

 

Izuku really hoped that waking up on the concrete was not going to become a habit. Unlike the past few days, awareness returned quickly, and after taking a few seconds to determine his surroundings, he was rather calm. As calm as one could be in a jail cell, that is.

His cellmates were sitting on the couches in front of the television, so he walked over to join them. He stood behind the sofa directly facing the screen, towering over Rize, who heard him approach. She tilted her head back to look up at him.

“So, you’re awake? What happened in there?” she asked, reaching back to grab his hand. She pulled him around the side of the couch, motioning for him to sit next to her. He did, sinking into the cushion. He slumped sideways a bit in exhaustion, brushing shoulders with Rize.

“Dunno… Can’t really remember. That Okahira bastard was there, but I think there was more than one of him…? Anyways, what’re you guys watching?”

“Just an old cartoon. There’s a cat and a mouse, and they keep fighting for some reason.”

“That sounds kinda stupid… But you know what’s stupider? I don’t know any of your names, besides Rize.”

The other teens stared at him, then exchanged glances, seemingly surprised. The blue-haired teen nodded.

“Well, it must have slipped our mind. We aren’t exactly worried about pleasantries here,” he said, fake-smiling the whole time. “I’m Arima Kishou. I don’t much like my given name, so please call me Arima.”

The not-quite-Japanese girl glared harder. “Hsiao,” she spat, crossing her arms in irritation and turning back to the TV.

“Ah, don’t worry about her- she just doesn’t like strangers. Took her nearly a year to warm up to us,” Rize assured Izuku. “By the way, she’s from Taiwan, so that’s why her name sounds so different.” Hsiao turned back to scowl at Rize, but didn’t say anything.

The twins stared at him, sinking into the couch slightly when he stared back.

“Oh, those two are Kurona and Nashiro. Their names match their hair, so you should be able to figure that one out. They’re a bit shy, but they’ll come around in no time!”

Izuku nodded, turning his attention back to the TV. With those introductions done, nobody really felt like talking, so they watched a rat outwit a cat for the next few hours. At some point, Izuku fell asleep. His head fell to the side, landing lightly on Rize’s shoulder. She smiled slightly, reaching up to twirl her fingers in his hair. Though, she couldn’t quite hold back her frown of confusion when she looked at it properly, wondering how she’d missed such a major development.

What was once green had become white as snow.

* * *

 

Days four, five, and six went much the same as day two. Wake up on the concrete operating table, get torn up, autocannibalize his organs a bit, pass out at some point, then do it all over again. Showers happened at some point each day, but his memory of those was a bit hazy.

Things changed on day seven. For one, Izuku noticed that he was becoming less and less bothered by the pain. Kanou seemed to have taken note of the distinct decline in screams as well, because he’d been putting in extra effort to hurt the teen lately.

Secondly, he was no longer quite so dazed. It was a subtle thing, something he wouldn’t have noticed if his senses weren’t suddenly so sharp. The light hovering over his head was blinding compared to normal, and he could hear Kanou’s heartbeat if he focused enough.

The turning point was when Kanou’s knife broke against his skin. He and the doctor stared at the metal handle which had once been a scalpel, then looked at each. Kanou was stunned. His eyes were wide, and Izuku knew his jaw was gaping behind that surgical mask. He also saw a bit of fear in those eyes.

Izuku, however, grinned. Yanking on all four limbs at once, the chains snapped like they were made of plastic rather than metal. The broken links scraped against the cuffs, which still encircled his ankles and wrists, but he could deal with that later.

Kanou took one step back, panic written all over his mostly-covered face. He turned to run, but suddenly fell to the ground, headless. A crimson-red spider leg hovered over his decapitated corpse, before being withdrawn into Izuku’s kakuhou. Said teen stared uncomprehendingly at the corpse. He honestly hadn’t expected it to be over so soon. He didn’t know what Kanou’s Quirk was, but he had assumed it was something useful for combat. Maybe it was, and the doctor simply didn’t have the reflexes for it? Then again, if it was combat-related, he probably would’ve become a fighter or something, not a mad scientist.

Whatever. He had to go find the cell he’d been living in for the past week or so to free his… Acquaintances. They weren’t exactly friends. Hsiao was outright hostile, Kurona and Nashiro hadn’t said a word to him, and Arima was quite indifferent to it all. Still, they didn’t deserve to live like this, especially if Kanou wasn’t around anymore.

But first, he was hungry...

* * *

 

It took him long than he would’ve liked to find the cell blocks. He’d been unconscious every time he was carried back by Taro. Speaking of which, it had been quite satisfying to punch a hole through that fat fucker’s head.

Eventually, though, he found it. A tug on the cell door ripped it from the hinges, and he slammed it against the bars to wake up everyone in one go. They all awoke with shouts, staring at him like he was a hallucination.

“Get up! We gotta go!” Izuku shouted, startling them in motion.

“What happened to Dr, Kanou?” Arima asked, ever the level-headed one. Even when he was rather frightened.

“Killed him. The RC Suppressors wore off or something, and he only used these shitty handcuffs on me.” He raised an arm to show the metal circlets. “Let’s go see if we can find anyone else.”

They seemed quite perturbed by his casual admittance to murder, but he ignored that, breaking into a jog. Thankfully, they all fell into step behind him, despite nobody knowing where they were going. It would’ve been annoying to have to force them into movement.

It took a little while to find the other cells, since each one was rather isolated. The first was occupied by six men, each one a different age. The youngest looked to be about university age, while the oldest was an elderly man, with long hair and a noodle-like mustache. He looked like one of those martial arts masters from those crappy action movies. One of them seemed familiar, though…

“Arata!?” Izuku shouted, pointing at a man with a truly kind face (unlike Arima) and blue hair. His was darker than Ayato’s, but the resemblance was obvious.

“Izuku-kun!?” the man yelled back, “What’re you doing here!?”

“What am  _ I _ doing here!? What’re  _ you _ doing here!? We thought you were  _ dead _ !”

“De-!? No! Kanou captured me when I was weak from starvation… Did he get you, too? And what happened to your hair?”

Izuku pursed his lips, scratching the back of his head. “Let’s  _ not _ talk about that. Anyways, you guys should come with us. We’re going to free the rest of the prisoners, and then get outta here.”

“Why should we follow you, shitty brat?” the blond university-aged guy sneered, swaggering up to look down on them. He stood only a few centimeters above Izuku, but his ego seemed to add a whole kilometer.

“Because I know someone who can help us once we get outta here?” Izuku replied, narrowing his eyes. This guy was like Katsuki, before his friend had calmed down.

“You think I need help?” Blondie growled, getting in Izuku’s face. A hand on his shoulder stopped him, causing the man to turn around. It was the martial arts master.

“Peace, Nishio. They merely seek to aid us- there is no need to antagonize them.” He turned to Izuku. “We shall go with you, young one. I am Kamishiro Matasaka, though many know me as Shachi.”

“Midoriya Izuku. Come on, the faster we get out of here, the faster we can get help.”

Besides Nishio, Shachi, and Arata, the cell contained the purple-haired Tsukiyama Shuu, another blond with a chin tattoo named Banjou Kazuichi, and the frail-looking Suzuya Juuzou. It was hard to tell if Juuzou was actually a male, and if he was old enough to have been sorted into this cell, but Izuku ignored that. There were probably more prisoners to free.

* * *

 

The third cell was only half-occupied, this time with females. Mado Akira was a severe blond, almost on the same level of hostility of Hsiao, though it seemed more like her face was simply stuck in a scowl. She spoke quite softly, with a pleasant lilt.

Kusakari Miza was even smaller than Kurona and Nashiro, though when Nishio pointed it out, she punched him in the crotch, face completely blank. Definitely not someone to mess around with.

Yonebayashi Saiko took laziness to a whole new level. Even Izuku wouldn’t refuse to wake up for a jailbreak. However, Yonebayashi did just that, and Arata ended up volunteering to carry her. She eagerly clambered onto the man’s back, then promptly fell asleep. Izuku was tempted to leave her there, before deciding that was cruel, even for a joke, so he said nothing.

* * *

 

Another half hour of running around, and they found no more cells. Just a bunch of tanks with Okahira clones, and a few clones patrolling, all of which Izuku dealt with quickly. Deciding that they had searched enough, they went up the staircase which happened to be nearby. It was a long trek. Izuku, as the only one not currently affected by RC Suppressors, sped ahead to scout out the place. He found absolutely nothing, not even a door to another level. Instead, the stairs were a straight shot to the top, illuminated by caged bulbs sticking out of the walls. He waited a few minutes for the large group to catch up. The teen was thankful they were all Ghouls- or so he assumed- because normal humans would’ve likely tired out long before now, even with their Quirks. 

Staring at the people gathered on those stairs, whose only commonality was a need for human flesh and being kidnapped by a madman, Izuku found himself wondering just how different things would be after today. Would they stay in touch, to have a sympathetic ear, or someone who could relate to this experience? Would they go their separate ways, and try to reintegrate themselves into society? Well, as much as Ghouls could, considering they weren’t exactly a part of this world in the first place.

What about him? He had been tortured for a week by an insane scientist. Sure, it might not have been the longest time, probably nothing compared to the people he stood with, but it had been intense enough that his hair had turned white. If he was lucky, then his social skills wouldn’t have deteriorated since he’d at least had some company in his cell, even if they weren’t the most talkative.

What about Rize, Arima, Hsiao, Kurona and Nashiro? They had spent their whole lives in Kanou’s clutches. How would they handle living in this world they knew nothing about, save for what they saw on TV?

Unfortunately, he would have to worry about that another time. He opened the door at the top of stairs, and his mind was wiped clean of any concerns for the future.

The city was burning.

* * *

 


	18. Chapter 18

_ What the hell…? _

Canyons were gouged into the streets, cutting through any cars unfortunate enough to be in the way. Scrap metal, rubble, and glass littered the sidewalks, remnants from the broken buildings that towered over them. Flames reached for the sky, ink-black smoke rising to block out the meager light from the evening sun.

Izuku slowly wandered out of the doorway he’d emerged from, eyes widening further the more destruction he’d observed. In the distance, he could hear more explosions, and screams that suddenly cut off. Hopefully, those people had simply been knocked out, but in reality…

“Izuku?” Rize called fearfully, the first one to follow him out of the stairwell.

“Stay there!” he shouted, turning to throw a palm out in her direction to emphasize his order. The young woman did, freezing in place, and was grateful she did when something came flying out of nowhere, slamming into the street between them.

It was a person. A Hero, from the looks of their costume, but Izuku had no clue which one. It didn’t matter, since three figures dropped on them, crushing them to death with massive fists. They died instantly, blood and gore splattering all over the asphalt. The killers straightened up as one, and Izuku got a good look at them.

They were identical, in every way. Lean, wiry muscle which bulged through light green skin, only covered on their bottom halves by tattered trousers. They were incredibly tall, towering over Izuku by a good meter. As such, their limbs were proportionately long. The most telling thing, however, was their head.

Jaws that were eternally slack, dripping with saliva, indicating a lack of fine motor control. Four eyes, two in the normal position, while the second set was more towards the back. And finally, the brain which was exposed to the air, which the eyeballs were embedded into.

“Nomu…” Izuku muttered, bending his knees in anticipation for the fight. He watched the artificial humans for a long while. They were ambling around on the street aimlessly, apparently unsure where to go. They started to pivot on their feet, spinning around, and then one caught sight of RIze. She was still in the doorway, terrified out of her mind, and unable to move.

The monster shrieked, alerting its friend, and they looked where their clone was staring. Then, they screeched simultaneously in a bloodcurdling symphony, launching themselves at the purple-haired girl with incredible speed.

Shachi yanked Rize back, moving to stand in her place, arms crossed in front of him. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact. He knew he was weak; he’d been living with RC Suppressants running through his veins for a few years, preventing him from going all out during training. The strength those monsters had just exhibited surpassed his current body, and he would break if he was hit. Still, if he, who had practice martial arts for years, tempering his mind and forging his body, could not take on these monsters, then what chance did a young girl have?

Fortunately, he would not have to find out either, because he heard the beasts shriek in unison, and the ground shook slightly. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw the three artificial humans face down in craters, Izuku standing in the center of the triangle they made. All eight of his spidery kagune were out, exoskeleton shining and sharp ends poised for combat.

“Close the door and go back down!” Izuku shouted, not taking his eyes off the Nomus. “You can’t take these things on with those RC Suppressors in you!”

Shachi nodded, not that the boy would see, and slammed the door shut with more force than was strictly necessary. He prodded the other Ghouls back down the stairs, pushing them in the case of the prideful Nishio, and soon they had descended three flights, where they remained.

Outside, the Nomus slowly rose to their feet, then spun around quickly. Two of them crouched low, their muscles suddenly bulging, while the third attacked. It swiped with long fingers, which Izuku jumped away from. A mass of pink material spewed from its mouth, forming a web which shot at the teen. A few swipes of his kagune cleared it away, but he was suddenly struck in the side with immense force. An instant later, another strong blow slammed into his back, and he was sent flying.

His kagune stabbed into the street, slowing his flight, leaving eight new scars in the road. Turning his momentum around, Izuku launched himself at the Nomu with the Tongue Web, and stabbed one of his kagune into its brain. It died instantly, heaving an ominous death rattle before falling limply to the ground. Izuku leapt into the air, dodging another punch from one of the bulked up monsters. The second jumped to meet him in the air, but was stabbed through the stomach for its troubles. When it kept reaching, Izuku sliced it clean in half with his spider legs, then vertically bisected its head just to make sure. The original Nomu had a Regeneration Quirk- it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume these ones might as well.

He landed on the third four-eyed Nomu’s shoulder, then stabbed all eight of his kagune into its head. It dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, and Izuku backflipped off the corpse.

He took only a moment to survey his kills, before running back to the door he’d come from. Throwing it open, he shouted down the stairs, receiving a reply instantly. It sounded closer than he expected, which was proven when Shachi rounded the corner mere moments later.

“They are taken care of?” the old man asked, and Izuku nodded.

“I doubt that was the last of it, though; none of those things had a Fire Quirk or anything, but the city’s still burning. We gotta be careful.”

Shachi nodded, then turned back to gesture at something out of Izuku’s sight. The rest of the Ghouls climbed the stairs, and they followed him out of the building. While some of the younger ones were a bit freaked out by the monster corpses, the more experienced Ghouls ignored them, though a few were tempted to stop and feed. However, the boy that freed them was still moving, so they pushed aside their hunger and followed.

Izuku eyed the torn up streets and the destroyed sidewalks, before slowing down. He turned to the group.

“We should run on the rooftops- less chance of being seen. If you can’t make it up, I’ll carry you with my kagune. Go!”

All of the adults began bouncing off walls like video game characters, and in seconds had cleared the ground. Only the teens remained, except Hsiao, who had gone with the adults. She was currently hanging onto the edge of a building, flailing slightly. She’d only barely made it, and was helped up by Mado.

Izuku’s kagune slithered out, taking the more malleable shape of tentacles now since he didn’t want to pierce them. Wrapping a tentacle around each of their waists, Izuku leapt straight up, using his extra four kagune to climb the side of the building like a spider. Upon reaching the top, he didn’t let go, instead jumping to a neighboring building, prompting the other Ghouls to follow. He was heading to the city center, which was bathed in the orange glow of fire. Maybe there, he’d be able to find out exactly what was going on.

Shouting in one of the alleys he jumped over attracted his attention. He signaled the others to stop, and looked down. What he saw surprised him.

“Stay up here!” he commanded, dropping down. He landed in front of the man with the sword, blocking his swing with his kagune, then kicked him back. The distance allowed him a better opportunity to observe.

The man was wearing black combat pants, and a black vest. Spiked combat boots- the points of which were stained with blood- covered his feet and ankles, leading up to metal plates on his shins. There were knife holsters strapped onto each thigh, along with two belts on his torso that both held his katana sheath to his back, and attached a total of four more knives to his sides. Bandages looped around his arms. He also wore two black cloth wristbands, though they were likely made of a strong material for some protection.

His most defining feature was by far the red scarf around his neck, as well as the white headband which covered the upper half of his face, save two holes cut for his eyes. There was a distinct lack of raised fabric where the nose should have been. Both seemed to be quite long, since a veritable river of fabric flowed behind the man.

Behind him, sprawled on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, was a very familiar person wearing armor with exhaust pipes sticking out of it.

“Mind telling me what this is all about, Iida?”

“M-Midoriya-kun…  _ Run _ .”

“...I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that. You!” Izuku shouted, pointing at the swordsman, who was back on his feet. “Who the hell are you?”

The man was glaring at him, though seemed more intrigued than angry. “You jumped in here without knowing what was going on?”

“Well, when you’re about to kill one of my classmates, there’s not a whole lot else I can do, right?” Izuku dropped into a fighting stance, kagune idly shifting behind him.

“Hm… Running in impulsively just to save someone’s life? I can respect that. I am the Hero Killer: Stain. Who’re  _ you _ ?” Stain asked, brandishing his chipped katana.

“Midoriya Izuku.”

“Well then, Midoriya Izuku, I suggest you get out of my way. I’d rather not kill innocent people- only those fake Heroes, like that Ingenium behind you.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be doin’ that anytime soon.”

Stain smiled, seemingly pleased with the response. “Good, good… Looks like there  _ are _ still true Heroes in this world. You’ve got a great friend, Ingenium- too bad he’s gonna die because of you!”

With that, the Hero Killer rushed forward with impressive speed, even to Izuku. His blade was merely a glint of light before it slammed into Izuku’s kagune. Surprisingly, the blade sunk in, and Izuku stabbed forward with his other spider legs, only for the man to leap back.

“Nice reflexes,” Stain complimented, pulling a combat knife out from one of the sheaths on his side. He chucked it at Izuku, then pulled out another one, shadowing the projectile.

The thrown knife was batted out of the air by a crimson limb, and the Hero Killer’s knife hand knocked aside with a forearm. One of the teen’s kagune shifted into a fluid tentacle, wrapping around the arm wielding a katana. With his stab redirected, Stain’s momentum carried him forward slightly. However, he had incredible control of himself, because he was able to pull back an instant before Izuku’s uppercut crashed into his jaw.

Pulling out another dagger, Stain sliced through the tentacle holding him, since it had not hardened into an exoskeleton like the other spider legs. The vigilante leaped back, out of the range of a flurry of attacks.

This time, Izuku took the initiative. He spread out all eight spider legs, putting them fully on mobility. They jabbed into the brick wall and concrete ground, scuttling towards the Hero Killer. A slice was dodged by going over, and then the boy was yanked right back down to deliver a punishing hammer arm to the back of Stain’s head. Pushing back onto the ground, Izuku slammed a knee into Stain’s face, then shot forward with a kick that launched the Hero Killer back. His kagune all morphed into malleable tentacles, surrounding the vigilante in a cocoon of RC Cells. Izuku dragged the man forward, then started wailing on his head, only stopping when Stain’s head stopped snapping back into place after every blow, instead falling limp. A final, solid strike to the jaw- which cracked  _ something-  _ convinced Izuku that he was done.

He turned to walk over to Iida, still lying on the ground.

“Can you move?” he asked, and the downed teen growled.

“...No.”

Izuku looked up, gesturing at Shachi, who was standing at the edge of the precipice. The martial arts master nodded, dropping down. He first went to a man that Izuku hadn’t seen. It looked to be another Hero that had gotten on the wrong side of Stain, but was knocked out unlike Iida. Shachi threw the man in tribal clothing over his shoulder, then did the same with Iida.

“It seems there is much I have missed during my imprisonment,” the old man said, gesturing at the Hero Killer wrapped up in Izuku’s kagune.

“You have  _ no _ idea. Let’s find some Pro Heroes, so they can deal with this dude.”

* * *

 

It didn’t take too long, all things considered. The three other Nomu on the scene, however, made things a bit more complicated.

One Nomu was another clone of the four eyes from before, which Izuku had already killed. Another was similar in build, but with yellow skin, only two eyes, a respirator over its mouth, and a pair of wings sprouting from its back. The third one worried Izuku the most. It had purple skin, similar to the U.S.J Nomu, and was a fair bit larger than the other artificial humans. It seemed to be built for strength, more so than the others, given the mountains of muscles. It had no eyes- actually, it simply didn’t have a face. There was only a lower jaw, the teeth of which were completely visible.

The winged Nomu was carrying a Pro Hero in its claws, flying far above the battlefield. Four-eyes was being pummeled by a short, elderly man wearing yellow, who was bouncing around the place incredibly fast. The purple one… Was now dead, apparently. It had been surrounded by a group of Heroes, who had been getting their collective asses handed to them, until Endeavor stepped in an carbonized its head with blue flames. It was actually pretty cool.

_ Actually, didn’t Todoroki and Katsuki intern with Endeavor? If he’s here… Oh. _

Todoroki made his presence known with a spire of ice that encased the flying Nomu, barely avoiding its victim. The yellow old man flew up, grabbing the Pro Hero and bringing them back to the ground. With that done, the place got eerily quiet, so Izuku walked over to the Number Two Hero.

“Yo, Endeavor.”

The Flame Hero turned to regard him warily. “Midoriya Izuku. What are you...” The man trailed off when he saw the Hero Killer entangled in the teen’s kagune. “Is that…?”

“Stain? Yup. I was wondering if you’d know what to do with him, since I don’t feel like carryin’ him everywhere. It’s kinda annoying.”

Endeavor sighed in aggravation. “Hold him for now. The police will be arriving soon, and they’ll take him off your hands.”

“ _ Or, _ I can just pass him to you so I don’t have to deal with all that.” Izuku did just that, literally dumping the unconscious body of Stain on Endeavor. The man almost burst into flames, incinerating the criminal, but managed to contain himself. Instead, he settled for glaring hatefully at Izuku, while he pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket and chained Stain’s wrists together. He was about to open his mouth, when an excited cry caught his attention.

“Izu-kun!”

Turning towards the voice, he saw Setsuna, clad in her scaly Hero Costume, running towards him. Momo was jogging next to the green-haired girl.

_ Oh yeah, they interned with Uwabami, who’s also in Hosu. _

A titanic crash interrupted them, and Izuku’s head snapped up when a screech tore through the air. The winged Nomu, which was frozen moments ago, had managed to break free. It shot through the air towards the last person to make a loud noise; Setsuna.

The lizard girl stared at the artificial human, horrified by its appearance. She had never seen a Nomu, and didn’t know just how ugly those bastards were. As a result, she found herself frozen when one of those monsters was hurtling towards her at a hundred kilometers per hour. Then, suddenly, Setsuna’s world tilted, and she was on the ground.

Momo, slightly more prepared for this situation, had shoved Setsuna out of the way, causing the green-haired girl to fall over. As the only one standing, and therefore now the closest to the winged Nomu, the black-haired girl became its new target.

It’s outstretched hands latched onto Momo’s bare shoulders, claws digging in to get a better grip. With a powerful flap of its wings, it took off, rocketing away with incredible speeds. Momo’s screams of terror were becoming quieter as they got further away, until they were drowned out by a roar of rage.

Izuku pushed himself with everything he had, feet breaking the asphalt as he sprinted until he was directly beneath the Nomu. Then, he leaped into the air using all his might, reaching the apex of his jump at an equal height as the monster. A flash of crimson separated the Nomu’s hands from its arms, and the boy snatched Momo out of the air. The other seven spider legs sheathed themselves in the yellow-skinned beast, dragging it with Izuku as he fell to the ground. While the teen alighted lightly on the street, the beast was slammed with a much force as he could muster, hitting with the force of a meteor. When the winged Nomu attempted to rise, a kagune pierced its exposed brain, killing it instantly.

Izuku glared at the corpse, until he was distracted by a squeak from the girl in his arms. He looked at her, and she flinched away. His black eyes were far too intense, her heart far too weak. She couldn’t even look at him, and something welled up in her chest.

The boy sighed, setting the girl on her feet. Without a word, he turned and walked over to Katsuki, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his sweatpants, leaving Momo to her thoughts.

* * *

 

Katsuki was pissed. He’d watched the whole ordeal go down, from the moment Yaoyorozu got snatched to the moment Izuku landed. He saw how she refused to say anything, and the hurt Izuku’s face. Fists clenched, he stormed over, ready to blast a bitch into the stratosphere, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Izuku was standing over him, staring at him with sad eyes, shaking his head. His white hair-  _ when the fuck did that happen? _ \- flopped into his face, distracting the blond for a moment, but he snapped back into it. He glared at his friend, who regarded him with something akin to silent pleading. Katsuki ignored it.

He slapped the other boy’s hand off his shoulder, and continued on his warpath to spiky-ponytail.

“Oi, Vice-Rep!”

Yaoyorozu turned to him, seemingly confused by his calling her out. He picked up speed, rushing at the girl until he was close enough to grab the collar of her Hero Costume, red fabric bunching together in his fist.

“What the fuck was that, you worthless bitch!? Can’t even be bothered to say thanks, hah!?”

“B-Bakugou-kun-!”

“You stupid or some shit!? If Izuku saves your life, then you at least say  _ thank you _ ! You don’t look him right in the eyes and then ignore him! The hell is wrong with you!?”

“Katsuki.”

That voice froze him like ice, and Katsuki slowly twisted his neck to look behind him. Izuku was staring at him blankly, his eyes back to their natural emerald green.

“Tch.” Katsuki let go, fixing the girl with a lethal glare, then walked over to Izuku. Yaoyorozu looked like she was about to fall over. Katsuki hoped she got a concussion when she hit the ground.

* * *

 

“Why the fuck did you stop me!?” Katsuki shouted, firecrackers popping in his palms.

“Gimme your phone.”

The blond was taken aback, but did as he was told, passing the device. Izuku rattled out a number, then pushed the phone up to his ear. He stared at Katsuki for a moment, then made a hand gesture, telling the blond to move back a bit. Respecting his friend’s privacy, but still pissed off at him, Katsuki stomped away, going to talk to Endeavor.

“Kuzen. It’s Izuku. I need you to send as many cars as you can down to Hosu. I killed Kanou and freed a bunch of his prisoners, and we need to get them to Tokyo  _ now _ . The address is…”

* * *

 

The vehicles arrived in a half-hour, which was rather impressive given how far Hosu was from Tokyo. Renji’s van took the majority of the burden, and the other two cars seated the remnants. Izuku was in the passenger seat of Irimi’s car, head leaning against the glass. In the back seat sat the rest of the teens, except for Hsiao, who was in Enji’s car with the women. Since the back could only seat three, Nashiro was sitting in Rize’s lap.

“So, mind tellin’ me how you ended up in that shitshow?” Irimi asked, not looking away from the road.

“No clue. I was interning with Ayato, since he’s somehow a Pro Hero, and we went down to Hosu’s warehouse district. We broke into one, and then… I got knocked out. I woke up in Kanou’s lab.”

Irimi was silent for a while, turning that information over in her mind. “...Think it was a setup?”

“Knowing Ayato, yeah. Probably did it for money or something- whatever it was, I’m gonna kill him next time I see him.”

“Touka’s not gonna like that. And what about Arata-san? He’ll be pretty upset if you murder his son, who he hasn’t seen in a decade.”

“Fuck ‘em. I don’t give a shit about their stupid feelings. That bastard’s gotten too wild to keep around anymore. They’re just too close to see the truth.”

“That’s pretty hypocritical, Izu, considering how things are with you mom…”

“You know damn well that’s different, Irimi-san. She’s helped all of us, while Ayato just wants to piss on everyone’s work. Besides, it’s not like any of us could kill her, anyways.”

“...Yeah, guess you’re right. That woman is pretty damned scary.”

The rest of the drive was silent.

* * *

 

**Un-edited, we die like warriors.**

**K bai :D**


	19. Chapter 19

Dragging himself to school on Monday was harder than it should have been. He’d gotten back home from Tokyo at around three in the morning; it had taken a while to get everyone settled in, and Touka wanted to have a small celebration for finding Arata, and he had to explain to Rize that he couldn’t spend the night… Honestly, it was far too much trouble. There was also the fact that he’d been gruesomely tortured for the past week, but then again, he was already healed, with the exception of a nasty scar. It wasn’t like anyone was going to be seeing him shirtless, though, so there was nothing to worry about.

Still, he was  _ exhausted _ . Between the lack of sleep, sudden onset of hunger, Class Representative duties, a pissed-off Katsuki, and an absolutely silent and unhelpful Vice Rep, it was no wonder that the white-haired teen was basically dead on his feet. The dreadful aura he exuded kept any curious classmates or teachers from asking about his new look, but that was about the only thing going right today. Hunger pains had started to cramp up his stomach, and worsened at a ridiculous pace- at this rate, he’d go berserk before the day was out.

Unfortunately for him, classes were nowhere  _ near _ over. It was only lunchtime, and he still had to deal with Foundational Hero Training. The teen had no clue what All Might or Aizawa had cooked up for today’s lesson. He had a feeling it would be obnoxious, though.

* * *

 

“Alright, I am here! Welcome back, young men and young ladies. It’s been such a long time! Since you’ve just returned from your internships, I thought we’d have a little fun- as such, we’ll be doing a Rescue Training  _ Race _ ! It is exactly as the name implies; a race to see which of you can reach the endangered civilian- me!- first! For that reason, we have come to Field Gamma, a dense area filled with a labyrinth of factories. I’ll be breaking you up into five-person groups, and one group will enter the city at a time. Each member will start from different entrances, and when I give the signal,  _ race _ towards the center to save me! And, of course, you’ll have to keep damage to the buildings to a minimum.”

“Don’t point at me!” Katsuki growled, turning so that he couldn’t see the accusatory finger.

“Now, the first group will be Ojiro-shounen, Iida-shounen, Sero-shounen, Ashido-shoujo, and Midoriya-shounen! Get to your positions, and listen for my signal! I will be waiting to be rescued, young Heroes!” The Number One Hero leaped into the city with a single, powerful bound, laughing boisterously the whole way.

* * *

 

_ Shit… This really hurts! I can hardly focus- how the fuck am I gonna do a race!? _

Izuku’s face was scrunched up into an aimless glare, sweat dripping down his forehead. His arms were shaking from how hard he was clenching his fists, and he was only barely able to ignore the shadows wreaking havoc on his concentration. They twisted into ambiguous shapes, wandering around near him, sometimes walking, sometimes running. Some flew, others crawled, but none were still like shadows were supposed to be.

Except for one particular phantom. It sat in front of him, as unmoving as a stone statue, staring at him with eight beady eyes, only discernible from the rest of its body because they were drastically darker. That steady gaze drew the light in, and seemed to be aching to draw him in as well. Eight double-jointed legs emerged from a bulbous torso, connected to the ground by needle-thin points. It was a spider.

However, unlike regular spiders, this…  _ Monster _ , towered well above the buildings of Field Gamma. It looked down upon him, almost like a benevolent god regarding its pitiful subjects, and Izuku very nearly knelt before it. Only his incredible willpower, and the ironclad knowledge that it had to be a hallucination, kept his forehead off the ground. That, and the foreboding feeling that filled him at the very thought of submitting. His peripheral vision darkened, until all that was left was him and this gargantuan arachnid, hovering over a void of infinite darkness, silently staring into each other’s eyes. Waiting, for the other to falter.

This  _ thing _ was not benevolent in the slightest. It was a feral beast, capable of untold violence, which it would unleash at the first sign that Izuku was breaking. Should he fall to his knees, scream in terror, turn-tail and run, or even sweat one drop too many, this creature would bear down upon him, meter-long incisors descending to carve him to shreds like a piece of meat in a butcher’s shop. It would devour him in his entirety; mind, body, soul- all of it would be forced down the spider’s gullet, to rot forever in the bottomless pit that was its stomach.

Like the Titan King Kronos, who was cast down to Tartarus, chopped into a thousand parts by his children, he would be able to feel every single one of his pieces which had been separated from him. And, like the Olympians, swallowed whole by their father shortly after their birth, he would shriek in silent agony as the ocean of acid churning in the spider’s guts dissolved every bit of him for the rest of eternity.

And then, once it was done with Izuku, it would turn to bare its bloodied, crimson-stained fangs at the rest of the world. Anyone who came close would be dragged down into the abyss, consumed by this unholy demon, never to return. The only thing standing between this spider and its conquest of the mortal plane was Izuku, who was petrified in horror.

_ Move… Move! I have to move! I can’t fight this thing! How the hell do I get out!? Move! _

Fear wafted off the boy in waves stronger than any tsunami, flooding the vacuum with his all-consuming terror. The spider felt it, smelled it, tasted it- there was no way it  _ wouldn’t _ , not with how thoroughly the sensation was invading every fiber of its being. As if testing the waters, a single leg raised off the ground, and moved about two meters closer to the boy. He tensed up instantly, eyes glued to the appendage. Another one moved, and his gaze switched targets, and then another one, and another…

Venom was dripping from the fangs which hovered mere centimeters from his face, filling his nose with the acrid scent of poison potent enough to melt through all of creation. It hit the pitch-black floor underneath him, splashing up to burn at his skin, eating through his shoes, flesh, muscles, tendons, bones, and finally, his very essence. He could no longer see those hellish eyes, but he could feel their malevolence piercing the top of his skull, burrowing deep into his brain and sowing the seeds of discord, which would eventually bloom into the flower of madness.

Hot, rancid breath wafted over him, ruffling his snow-white hair like a gentle summer breeze.

_ Move. _

Black bone brushed up against his cheek, flaying the skin just by proximity.

_ Move! _

His hand began to lift up, slowly. The spider noticed. It reared back, though the sudden distance did nothing to alleviate the pressure crushing the air from his lungs. The creature shrieked, a bloodcurdling, ear-shattering noise, and shot downwards, fangs gleaming in nonexistent light.

_ MOVE! _

His thumb was between his teeth, and he bit down.

The world snapped back into focus. The demon screeched, jumping away from him as if his mere presence hurt it. It quivered, body racked with pain-induced spasms. The legs curled closer to the spider as it shriveled up, disintegrating into ash which was swept away with the wind. And then, for just a moment, he saw her, floating where the spider’s eyes had been only a moment before, as if she had been viewing the world from that distorted kaleidoscope this entire time. She smiled at him, pink lips curled slightly at the corners, pale skin shining in the illusionary moonlight. She was the very picture of innocence, and then she too vanished in a swirl of black dust.

_ Rize...? _

Light came back to his vision, searing his eyes with the abruptness. He dropped to his knees, and with heavy heaves, spewed liter after liter of blood onto the concrete beneath him. The last of his strength gone, he flopped into the self-made crimson lake, eyes rolling to the back of his head, and he faded into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

 

Momo was a bit confused. All Might had called for the exercise to start nearly thirty seconds ago, yet Midoriya-kun had yet to move. She knew his reaction time could be measured in the milliseconds, so it was odd that he was simply standing still, staring vacantly at the empty air in front of him.

“Oi, doesn’t Midoriya look a bit…  _ Off?” _ Kirishima asked.

“Yeah, he’s sweating like crazy, even though he’s not moving. What’s up with that?” Kaminari said. Their discussion on the possible outcomes of the race had been halted by the redheads observation.

“He’s shaking a lot, too,” Uraraka said, a finger poking her bottom lip in a mix of confusion and concern.

Momo didn’t quite know what to make of the situation. To be honest, it looked like Midoriya-kun was… Scared. But of what? There was nothing there, and he’d never been shy about going all out in front of other people, if the Sports Festival was any indication. Had something happened during the internship week?

Well, he  _ had _ dyed his hair white, though nobody quite knew why, since they were a bit too scared to ask. The Class Rep had had a pretty scary expression on his face this morning. There was also that odd scar she remembered seeing on his chest yesterday, since he’d been running around without a shirt.

Momo’s face burned at the memory, even more so when she recalled the sensation of being pressed against his chiseled torso, while wearing her skimpy Hero Costume. However, his scar had been on full display; it was Y-shaped, spanning his shoulder width, and running from his collarbones down to his navel. If Momo didn’t know better, she’d say it looked like the boy had been vivisected- but that was ridiculous. He’d be dead if that was the case, so Momo didn’t bother entertaining that train of thought any longer.

More time passed, and Sero finally reached All MIght, followed soon after by Ojiro, who was bouncing around by slapping the ground with his Tail, propelling himself further. Iida came soon, having a bit of a difficult time, since he couldn’t run straight to the target due to the amount of turns in the way. Ashido brought up the rear, sliding around on her Acid at impressive speeds, but quite slow compared to her other peers. Yet, Midoriya-kun still hadn’t moved.

Oh, wait! He was lifting his hand…  _ Why did he just bite his thumb off!? _

Many of the students shrieked, jumping up if they were sitting down, otherwise leaping into the air or recoiling from shock. Then, simple yelps became shouts of pure horror when Midoriya-kun dropped to the ground, and threw up what looked like more blood than was in the normal human body. The boy passed out, white hair becoming rapidly stained with crimson as he lay in a massive puddle of his own ichor.

From what they could see on the camera, Midoriya-kun actually looked dead. The screen wasn’t close enough to display the rising and falling of his chest, so there was no indication if he was alive. Obviously, he wasn’t moving. He was also face down in a puddle of liquid, which might actually kill him if his face turned the wrong way- he could drown in his own blood!

Nobody was able to move, eyes locked on the screen of their unconscious classmate for so long that All Might was able to get back to the rest of the class.

“Where is Midoriya-shounen…?” the man asked, trailing off when he saw what had his students so enraptured. “Holy  _ shit! _ ” All Might shouted, taking off so fast he broke the ground, causing many of the teens to stumble, snapping them out of their dazes.

They didn’t even have time to think about following, because by the time they looked back at the screen, All Might was already on the scene. He carefully rolled the boy over, checking pulse and breathing rate. Apparently, the results were not good, because the muscular man looked incredibly alarmed. He scooped the boy up in his powerful arms, and leaped high into the sky.

Without even a glance back at the rest of his class, All Might shot towards U.A like a rocket, intent on bringing his student to Recovery Girl as soon as possible. He’d send Aizawa or someone to retrieve them.

* * *

 

Katsuki stared at All Might’s shrinking back, barely able to make out the white mess that was Izuku’s hair hanging over the Pro Hero’s arm. His best friend was being carried to the Infirmary after almost bleeding out, and what was  _ he _ doing?

_ Why the hell am I still standing here!? _

With a roar of rage, Katsuki blasted himself into the sky, heedless of the people he knocked over with the strength of his Explosions. He fired as often as he could, hardly even noticing when his wrists began to ache and quiver. He was much more focused on moving as fast as possible, and pumped even more energy into his Quirk.

Katsuki reached the school building after a few minutes of consecutive detonations, the bones in his forearms littered with fractures, and very near to shattering like twigs. He paid no mind to his self-sustained injuries, and rushed through the halls, finding himself in front of the Infirmary after a few minutes of running. He slammed the wooden barrier aside, startling All Might and Recovery Girl, who were bent over the unconscious teen, chattering furiously.

“Who the heck!?” Recovery Girl shouted, hand instinctively going for her cane. All Might put a calming hand on her shoulder, stepping forward.

“Bakugou-shounen, what are you doing here?”

“What the  _ fuck _ do you mean!? You expect me to just stand still while Izuku’s injured like that!?”

All Might glanced at the red-faced nurse, and quickly bustled the younger blond out of the room.

“Bakugou-shounen, while I admire your compassion for your fellow students, I must ask you to calm down. Getting riled up will do you no good in a situation such as this- in my experience, it only makes things worse. Take a few deep breaths.”

Katsuki did as he was ordered, and was finally able to speak quietly.

“Sorry,” he ground out, not used to apologizing.

“It’s no problem at all, young man. Now, I think you should go see Recovery Girl about those arms, and then we can have a conversation.”

* * *

 

**Unedited, we die like warriors. Again. For like, the third (?) time.**

**Bonus points for the people who somewhat understand what the fuck just happened, cuz that was pretty intense. It’s a Tokyo Ghoul thing, so for those of you who don’t know much about it, it’ll be revealed soon. I still want to see guesses.**

**K bai :D**


	20. Chapter 20

Izuku woke up exhausted. It, unfortunately, wasn’t a foreign sensation, so he simply yawned and sat up, ready to get this day over with. For some odd reason, though, he wasn’t in his bedroom. At least, he didn’t think so- last he remembered, it wasn’t blindingly white. His stomach also hurt, a lot. He scratched at his bare abdomen idly, hoping against hope that it would somehow do away with the gut-wrenching pain. Hunger sucked.

His memories returned in a flash, and he hopped up, body tense as if expecting a fight in the immediate future. It took a moment to calm himself, but he managed to not lash out when Recovery Girl suddenly yanked aside the curtain separating his hospital bed from the rest of the infirmary.

“ _ Lay back down! _ ” she shouted, voice reaching an incredibly-high pitch in panic. Izuku stared at her shock, and she whacked him in the shin with her cane. He just kept staring, and the nurse did it again. Izuku decided to compromise, and only sat on the white sheets, eliciting a wordless growl from the old woman. She didn’t comment, however, instead taking deep breaths to calm herself. Eventually, she regained her ability to speak.

“Do you have  _ any  _ idea why you’re in here!?”

Izuku tilted his head, then shrugged carelessly. Recovery Girl scowled.

“According to All Might, you keeled over during class and threw up a small lake of blood! And then, the first thing you do after waking up is jump to your feet!? Are you  _ insane!? _ What happened to you!?”

“...I dunno. Isn’t it your job to find out? Ya know, school nurse?”

Recovery Girl slapped him in the shoulder this time, though it took a bit more effort due to the height difference. “Don’t sass me, boy!” She brandished the cane, but lowered it when Izuku remained silent. She sighed. “Unfortunately, we  _ don’t _ know what happened to you. I ran as many scans and X-rays as I could once All Might brought you in, but I couldn’t find any signs of damage- definitely nothing that would leave you in  _ that _ state! It’s probably because of your regeneration, but we simply can  _ not _ ignore this! As such, I’m putting you on medical leave for a week. However, I expect you to come in every day to get a checkup.”

“That sounds like a lot of work.”

“Recovering from an injury always is… Well, it  _ normally _ is.” She glared at the teen, who raised an eyebrow.

“I feel mildly offended.”

Recovery Girl rubbed her wrinkled forehead in exasperation. “Whatever. How do you feel, anyways?”

“Nothing really hurts, but I’m  _ starving _ .”

Aizawa chose that moment to walk in, glaring balefully at Izuku. “Perfect timing, Midoriya. I just remembered we never had that conversation about your eating habits. Then again, considering how things went down at the U.S.J, I guess that’s not really surprising… Anyways, wanna tell Recovery Girl how long you go between meals? And don’t try lying, because I’ll tell her if you do.”

The Youthful Heroine narrowed her eyes at the white-haired teen, who sheepishly scratched at the back of his neck.

“Ah, typically around… Five months?” Izuku caught the surprisingly-speedy cane strike between his two palms, halting the weapon of mass destruction in its path to his forehead. “Wait, wait! It’s part of my Quirk! I don’t  _ need _ to eat every day! Seriously!”

“I think you’re omitting the fact that you lose your mind if you get hungry enough,” Aizawa said flatly. He sounded disturbingly amused at the turn of events.

Recovery Girl growled, pulling back her cane for a series of strikes, all of which were slapped aside, only adding to her ire.

“Stop! I’m normally pretty good about keeping myself under control! I even ate, like, last week, but I just got really hungry out of nowhere yesterday!”

The nurse stopped trying to maim her patient, just when Izuku was seriously considering letting her hit him. If she injured him enough, then surely she’d get her medical license revoked?

“So, you think this sudden bout of hunger is what triggered this mess?”

“Ah… Maybe? This hasn’t ever happened before, but I have a fairly good idea as to what’s going on.” The adults stared at him for a moment, before realizing that he wasn’t going to say anything further on the matter. Recovery Girl sighed.

“I suppose we can’t force it out of you.  _ However, _ you had best come see me if this, or anything even  _ remotely _ similar happens again. Got it?” Izuku nodded. He stood, ready to leave, only to be shoved back down onto the bed by the tip of the cane. “You’re not going anywhere until you get some food in you. If it’s what caused this whole situation, then we’ll deal with it now. I’ll call Lunch Rush and ask him to send a plate this way. Any allergies?”

“Ah… Pretty much everything?” Recovery Girl raised an eyebrow, so he elaborated. “I can’t digest most things, so even if I eat it, I’ll just throw it up in a few minutes.”

“Well, what things  _ can _ you eat?”

Izuku shrugged half-heartedly, refusing to look the nurse in the eyes.

“No, no, none of that now! You  _ will  _ tell me, or you won’t be leaving!”

Izuku’s head snapped to face her, his red eyes glaring at the old woman. “You think you can stop me?” he growled lowly, tensing up in preparation for a fight. Aizawa, who wasn’t directly in front of the teen, was able to see the crimson needles poking through the skin of his back.

“Chiyo, let him go. There’s no point keeping him any longer if he won’t talk. This is an infirmary, not an interrogation room. Midoriya, relax.”

Izuku bared his teeth at the teacher, but reluctantly cut off the flow of RC cells. He stood up, shot a scathing look at Recovery Girl, grabbed the clean t-shirt from the nightstand, and walked out. Aizawa nodded at the stunned woman, then moved to follow his student.

* * *

 

For once, Shouta found himself struggling to keep up with a student. Midoriya was about the same height as him, perhaps a centimeter or two shorter, but his legs seemed to go on for kilometers. Each powerful stride ate up vast distances, and Shouta was nearly jogging to reach his student.

“Midoriya, slow down,” he ordered. The teen glanced at him, as if weighing the pros and cons of doing so, but he eventually obeyed.

“What?” the boy muttered, still walking forwards. He tugged at the collar of his new shirt, then shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I understand that, as a young man, you have your pride to worry about- I was the same, once, a long time ago- but if protecting your pride comes at the cost of your health, then you need to learn to let it go.”

Midoriya stopped suddenly, then shoved Shouta against the wall faster than he could react, bunching up the black material of the Pro’s shirt in his fists. “You think this is an  _ anime _ or something!? Who the fuck  _ cares _ about some stupid shit like  _ pride!? _ I know what I’m doing, Sensei, so don’t you  _ dare  _ question me!”

Shouta gazed blankly at his seething student. “You know what you’re doing? Then, does that involve pushing away everyone who wants to help you?”

Midoriya relaxed his grip, and took a step back. “I already have enough people to help me.”

Shouta raised an eyebrow. “Where are they, then?”

“...They’re a bit hard to reach at the moment.”

“So, what happens when you find yourself in a situation where telling the truth is the only way to get help immediately? Like right now, for instance.”

“Trust me on this, Sensei; if I told you the  _ truth _ , you wouldn’t be so ready to help me.” Midoriya turned and walked away, leaving Shouta to his thoughts.

* * *

 

“Don’t you have anything better to do, Shigaraki?”

“Believe it or not, no. As you know, I’m not the leader of the League of Villains, so it’s not like  _ I’m _ the one who has to spend all day planning. Plus, sitting around playing video games all day gets pretty boring.”

“Yeah, I can imagine that. Still, how do you always know when I’m on the train?”

“Oh, Sensei has some way to keep track of you. I don’t really care how, so long as it works. And look, it does! Why are you here, anyways? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Medical leave. Threw up a shit-ton of blood during Hero Training yesterday afternoon. Recovery Girl didn’t know what was going on, so she pulled me from classes for the week.”

“Ouch. And I’m guessing the people at Anteiku can help you somehow?”

“Well… Not so much  _ help _ as  _ advise _ . It’s different for every person- kinda like cancer, I guess.”

“Woah, you have cancer!?”

Izuku glared at Shigaraki, who just laughed. “Joking, joking. What is it, anyways?”

“It’s… A new  _ development _ of my Quirk, I guess.”

“Oh? So, does that mean you’ll be getting a power-up?”

“Maybe… If I don’t go completely insane, that is.”

* * *

 

“Renji, my kakuja’s coming in.”

The man dropped the glass in his hand, staring uncomprehendingly at the teen. Izuku was slouched against the bar, showing every bit of his exhaustion.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I did. Why are you telling me?”

“Well, who else am I gonna tell?”

“What about Yoshimura-san? If it’s your kakuja, then he’ll definitely be able to help.”

“I don’t wanna talk to that shitty old man.”

“He’s the best source of info for something like this. Stop being a brat.”

Izuku groaned, laying his cheek on the wooden bar. He stayed silent for a moment, while Renji cleaned up the bits of broken glass on the floor. When the man came back from dumping the shards in the trash can, Izuku sat up.

“You know if any of the hunting grounds are clean right now?”

“...Try the Fourth Ward. Uta’s pretty strict about keeping under the radar, so anyone there knows better than to overeat and risk alerting the authorities. If it comes down to it, you can ask him about kakuja, too- he developed one a while ago. And maybe you can finally get a mask?”

“Maybe. See ya ‘round, Ren.”

* * *

 

“Hey, kid, what happened to  _ keep a low profile _ , huh?”

Izuku looked up from the corpse he was currently devouring. He swallowed his current mouthful, and wiped his lips on his forearm. That did little more than smear the blood across his cheeks, however.

“I’m still hungry.”

Uta raised a tiny eyebrow. “You already ate, like, five people. You tryin’ to get fat?”

“No.”

“Really? That’s sure not what it looks like.”

“I got kidnapped by Kanou last week. He implanted another kakuhou in me, so now I’ve gotta fill it up.”

Uta nodded slowly, processing the statement.

“By the way, what do you know about kakuja? Renji said you had one, so I thought you could probably help me out.”

“What do you care about something like that? You’re only, what, fourteen? Fifteen? You’re a bit too young.”

“Maybe. Still, can you help me?”

“Depends… You know how I operate, right?”

Izuku sighed. “Right, right, never give anything away for free. What’s your price?”

“Well… Roma’s been bugging me for a while. Something about a certain  _ itch _ that needs to be  _ scratched _ . If I remember correctly you used to be pretty good at that sort of thing, weren’t you?”

“It’s not like I had a choice, you asshole. She kidnapped me, and I was ten. I couldn’t exactly kill the Dodgy Mother back then- I probably still can’t.”

“Either way, that’s my price. Take it or leave it.”

“...Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Correction; you’ll do  _ her _ .”

“Fuck you.”  
“You should probably save that type of talk for Roma. Sorry, but I don’t swing that way.”

* * *

 

The next morning, Izuku walked into Uta’s shop, HySy ArtMask Studio.

“Wow, you’re alive? And in one piece?”

“My limbs can grow back, dipshit.”

“And I’m sure Roma completely abused that. Anyways, we’re not here to talk about your kinkiness. You wanted to know about kakuja?”

“Yeah. I had a wild hallucination the other day. I don’t know if it was just the hunger, but it made a bit of sense. I saw this massive spider, and considering the shape my kagune’s taken…” Izuku lifted his shirt up a bit, allowing all eight of his spider-legs to protrude from his back to their fullest extent. Uta approached them, running his hand along the hardened carapace, and slicing his palm on the sharp points. The incision healed in moments, only allowing a few drops of blood to fall to the floor, where they blended into the black tile.

“Yeah, I can see why you’d think it’s a kakuja. Mostly because it  _ is _ . Well, it’s not a kakuja  _ yet _ , but it’s the beginning of one, I think. Is this the only thing? No armor or masks or extra limbs or anything?”

“As far as I know, yeah.”

“Good. You’re one of the lucky ones, then. If you’re careful enough, you can stop it right here, and not go bat-shit insane. Knowing  _ your _ family, though, it’s probably only a matter of time before it starts advancing. My advice? Make sure you’re in Tokyo when that happens. You’re gonna need a lot of RC cells to stabilize yourself, and the best source is other Ghouls. Fair warning, though; they taste like shit.”

Izuku nodded, absorbing the information. “That’s everything?”

“It’s the best I can do. You probably know that everyone’s kakuja is different, so what ends up happening is something only  _ you _ can deal with, but I can at least offer a few tips. So?”

“...Kinda disappointed, not gonna lie. I spent the night with a crazy bitch for lip service _? _ ”

“Well, word on the street is that you’re looking for Jason. I can get some people searching, if you want?”

“ _ That’s _ better.”

* * *

 

A squealing purple blur slammed into Izuku when he stepped into Anteiku the following evening. It was a good thing they were already closed, or the patrons might have been more than a little weirded out.

“Izuku!” Rize shouted, attempting to squeeze the life out of the tall teen. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her.

“Hey. What’re you doing here?”

Rize angled her head straight up, resting her chin on his chest, revealing she was now wearing a pair of bright red glasses. “Yoshimura-san let us work here, because we don’t have anywhere else to go! He’s so nice!”

“Yeah… Who’s  _ us _ ?”

“Me, Arima, Kurona, Nashiro, and Hsiao. Come on, let’s go see them!” She separated from him for a moment, only to grab his arm and start tugging him after her. Izuku waved at Irimi and Enji, who were relaxing at the bar, and looking incredibly amused. Rize dragged him up the stairs relentlessly, and tossed open the door to the break room.

“Everyone, Izuku’s here!”

Hsiao shot him a customary glare, Arima waved pleasantly, and the twins gave him timid smiles. Renji wasn’t very surprised, considering they’d talked just yesterday. Rize ignored the lack of enthusiasm, dragging Izuku over to the couch, and plopping him into a spot on the couch next to Kurona. Then, the purple-haired girl dropped herself on his lap, snuggling into his chest. He stared at her, before at glancing at Renji across from him, confusion written all over his face. Unfortunately, the older man was no use, since he was a bit busy trying not to laugh. He couldn’t keep the smirk off his face, though.

“So…” Izuku began awkwardly, “How’s life?”

Arima took pity on the white-haired teen, and picked up the conversation. “It’s been well enough. I quite enjoy working here; cooking is very peaceful, despite the fact that I can’t taste what I make.”

“You’re already starting off in the kitchen? Kuzen normally has the newbies waiting tables. Although, I guess he doesn’t need  _ that _ many people doing it. What about you two?” he asked, turning to the small girls next to him.

“We- we bring the food to people,” Kurona said quietly. Nashiro nodded in confirmation.

“And how’s that been going? I hope you haven’t dropped too many plates.”

“We don’t drop plates!” Nashiro cried, then turned red once she realized how loud she’d been.

Izuku chuckled, reaching over Kurona to rustle her matching white hair. “Well, that’s good. Those things are expensive, you know- the old man would probably take it out of your paycheck. Hsiao? How’s life at Anteiku?”

She frowned at him. “Fine,” she said curtly. Izuku hadn’t really been expecting much better, so he didn’t push for more.

“Has the old man talked to any of you about starting school, or tutoring?”

Renji answered in their stead. “Yoshimura-san said he wanted to wait a little bit, let them adjust to just living, before he starts stuff like that. He’ll probably be hiring someone in around a month, and Ryouko-san wants to Hinami learn with them.”

“Really? Nice, it’ll be like a little classroom. How’s Hinami-chan, by the way?”

“As well as can be expected, all things considered. She’s a lot quieter than before. Ryouko-san’s had to take over the clinic to pay for the house, so she brings Hinami here while she works. She’s seeing a lot more patients these days… Izuku, Tokyo’s getting dangerous. I don’t know what it’s like over in Musutafu, but the situation in Tokyo tends to reflect on the rest of the country.”

Izuku grimaced. “Yeah. A bunch of Villains came together, formed a group called the League of Villains. Normally, I wouldn’t think anything of them, but they’ve already attacked U.A, and they’re the ones responsible for the mess in Hosu. I don’t really know what’s going on these days- everyone’s getting quiet, like they’re waiting for something. Something big. I don’t like it.”

“...Think we should have Enji and Kaya round up the old crew?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. The League is fixated on U.A, because All Might is teaching there. But just in case, I think so. Irimi-san already has the Black Dobers out looking for Oomori, but I think she should pull back for now. The White Suits went into hiding, and the trail’s gone cold. They’d do more good back here. Enji should definitely hit up the Devil Apes. The leader of the Blades, Miza; she was one of Kanou’s prisoner. She owes me, so we could probably call on them if need be. Same with the Tsukiyama family- Kami only knows how he trapped them.”

“Tsukiyama’s connected to the Rosewald family in Germany. I heard they’re pretty strong.”

“Yeah, but they’re unreliable. If anything big happens, they won’t be able to get here until it’s long over. Saving their heir or not, I don’t think we have a right to drag them all the way to Japan in anticipation of something that  _ might _ happen.” Renji nodded in agreement. Izuku stroked the top of Rize’s hair idly, thinking. “Uta sent some people to track down Oomori, but… I don’t know if they’re Clowns or not.”

“Do  _ not _ tangle with the Clowns,” Renji said severely, glaring at the teen. “There’s no telling what they’ll do. The only reason we can trust Uta is because he’s an old friend, and even then, it’s iffy. You know how moody he can get.”

Izuku nodded. “Right. Just yesterday, he made me pay for information by… Having an  _ encounter _ with Roma.”

Renji’s eyes widened. “He made you-!?”

“Yeah. The information wasn’t even that good, which is why I made him compensate by sending out a few people to try and track down Oomori. I don’t think they’ll be able to get anything that Irimi-san hasn’t, though, since I doubt Uta is willing to call in favors with the heavy-hitters for something this small. Ugh, I should’ve asked for something else- dammit! I didn’t think it through!” Izuku groaned, tossing his head back to stare at the ceiling in irritation.

“This is why you should’ve asked Yoshimura-san,” Renji scolded. He was back to his bland tone, but Izuku knew better than to think the man didn’t care. “You know he would’ve helped you.”

“Yeah, I do, but I don’t want  _ his _ help.”

“Seriously, Izuku you have got to let this grudge go. You know why he did what he did.”

“I know exactly why, but the problem is, he didn’t  _ have _ to! He was stronger than all of them- he could’ve protected her! Instead, he abandoned her, and then he has the  _ balls _ to ask for forgiveness!?”

Renji started moving, and Izuku shunted RIze off his lap, onto the empty cushion next to him. Both men shot to their feet, glaring at the other fiercely. Though they were close in height, the auras they gave off were vastly different. Renji, with his broad shoulders and stone gaze, was as unmovable as a mountain, and could bring down the full weight of one on his enemies. Meanwhile, Izuku, with the mad glint in his eyes, was thinner, lither, sharp as the scalpels which carved him up, ready to slice through any and everything at the slightest provocation.

“ _ Gentlemen! _ ” Yoshimura thundered, surprising everyone with his sudden appearance. “You two would do well to not fight in the shop- and most definitely not in front of the children.” The veiled threat in the old man’s steady voice was clear as glass to Renji and Izuku, who glared at each other one last time before backing apart. They remained standing, however, despite Yoshimura’s hard gaze.

“Renji, though you may not agree with it, Izuku-kun  _ is _ justified in his stance on my sins. And, Izuku-kun… I hope you may one day understand that power is not the force that makes this world turn.”

Izuku gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, pointedly not looking at the old man. Yoshimura allowed a long moment for the tension to fade, before returning to his generally-pleasant disposition.

“So, will you be staying the night?”

Izuku reluctantly pulled out his phone to check the time. “...Yeah. The last train’s already gone. I’ll just sleep on the couch, and I’ll leave in the morning.”

“You can sleep with me, Izuku!” Rize piped in, sensing that she could talk now. The teen gave the girl an odd look, but upon seeing how excited she was at the possibility, couldn’t find it in himself to deny her. Besides, it wasn’t like they were going to  _ do _ anything. A glance at Yoshimura revealed that the old man didn’t seem particularly worried, either.

“...If you want.”

“Yay!”

* * *

 

“When did you get glasses?” Izuku asked, watching as Rize set them on her bedside table. She lay down and pulled the blanket over the two of them.

“Oh, Yoshimura-san took me to get my eyes checked out after I spilled three cups of coffee in five minutes.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow, though it went unseen in the darkness. “Really? So, I shouldn’t have been worried about Kurona and Nashiro in the first place, I guess.”

“Nope! They’ve been little angels. All the customers so far have loved them.”

“Well, looks like Kuzen’s found himself some nice publicity. Cute girls working in a cafe is sure to attract attention. What about you?”

“Ah… It’s pretty much the same, except… A few guys tried to reach up my skirt. Yomo-san threw them out, though!” she finished quickly, slightly panicked by the rumbling in Izuku’s chest.

The teen calmed himself a bit, then sighed. He wrapped an around the purple-haired girl, pulling her against his chest, where she nestled in comfortably. “Next time someone does that, break their arm. Scum like that doesn’t deserve to live, but Kuzen would probably be mad if you killed them.”

“I don’t think I should do that. Yoshimura-san probably wouldn’t be very happy. By the way, why do you call him that?”

“What, Kuzen?”

“Yeah. Everyone else calls him Yoshimura-san.”

“Because that’s his name. It’s a really long story, and I’m too tired to tell it. Let’s just to sleep, alright?”

“...Alright,” Rize muttered reluctantly, sounding very much like she was pouting. “Good night, Izuku.”

“Night.”

* * *

 

**Lots of exposition and conversation, though I felt it was necessary to get a feel for the current state of this world. Bad shit’s going down, they gotta be ready. The hunt for Oomori is going on the backburner for now, since the Hosu Incident takes precedent.**

**The reason for the week off is because I needed Izuku to take care of this stuff now, even if the timing doesn’t seem particularly logical. It’s what it is.**

**I have yet to explain exactly why he was spewing blood like a firehose. Bonus points for whoever can get it. Hint; what is one of the defining features of the black widow? Y’all should be able to figure out what’s going on with that.**

**K bai :D**


	21. Chapter 21

“There’s only one week left until Final Exams. I hope you’re all studying properly. I’m sure you already know, but there won’t only be a written exam. There will also be a practical portion, so make sure you train your mind and body at the same time. That’s all. Bye.”

The class exploded into noise the moment Aizawa closed the door. Ashido and Kaminari jumped up, simultaneously shouting, “I haven’t studied at all!” Kaminari looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, but Ashido was just laughing. They had quite different priorities, apparently.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I believe I can help you with that?” Momo offered shyly. The class knew she’d gotten first on the midterms, so it was like a gift from the gods to those idiots. They immediately prostrated themselves, thanking the girl profusely. A bunch of other students began to gather around, and Iida proclaimed boldly that he would assist Momo, his placement of second on the exam acting as his credentials. Cheers went up, and everyone began discussing plans.

Izuku had gotten third, and Katsuki fourth, so they had nothing to worry about.

“Hey, Bakugou, you did pretty well on the exam, right? Think you could help me out?” Kirishima asked. He’d scored fifteenth. Katsuki glared at the redhead, before nodding.

“What about you?” Katsuki asked. Izuku just shrugged.

* * *

 

Lunchtime was a subdued affair, with the majority of the class panicking about the impending test. Momo was going wild trying to reassure everybody, but only succeeding in making them cry more as she absentmindedly commented on how easy certain things were, which the other kids didn’t agree with at all. Izuku watched the ensuing chaos, sipping from his mug of cafeteria coffee to hide his smirk.

“What do you think’s gonna be on the test, Midori-chan?” Ashido asked, ignoring the mild glare she received for the nickname.

“Well, it’s gonna have to be stuff we’ve studied in class for the written exam. What’s the point in testing us on stuff we haven’t learned about?”

“ _ Duh!” _ Ashido cried, throwing her hands in the air. “I meant the  _ practical  _ exam!”

“Oh… I don’t think it’d be robots again. They’ve already been used for the Entrance Exam and the Sports Fest, so the teachers will probably assume we’ve already figured those out. They won’t give us something easy-”

Something pushed Izuku’s head, making his vision tilt thirty degrees to the side.

“Sorry, your head was so big I accidentally hit it,” someone said. The entire table quieted down, staring in horror at the confrontation. Only the other students of Class 1-A were able to see their Class Rep’s eyes turn black with rage.

Shattering the cup in his hand with an absent-minded squeeze, Izuku stood, towering over the antagonizer; Monoma Neito. Just when Izuku was about to reach out and grab the kid by his skinny neck, a head of green hair injected itself between them, pushing Monoma back.

“Ah, sorry about that! Monoma just wanted to ask you guys about what happened in Hosu!” Setsuna cried, putting on her biggest smile.

Izuku ignored the cheerful girl, shoving her aside- gently- and snatched Monoma’s tie, dragging the boy closer and jostling the contents of his tray. His fancy wine glass tipped over, spilling onto the white tiles.

“If you  _ ever _ touch me again, I will rip your fucking spine out. Got it?”

The blond nodded vigorously, and Izuku let him go, dropping back into his seat despite the puddle of coffee steadily spreading across the table in front of him.

“Well, you wanted to talk? Then talk,” Izuku commanded. Monoma cleared his throat and readjusted his tie.

“I-” he began, voice shaky. He cleared his throat again, and tried once more. “I heard you met the Hero Killer.” The blond was getting back into his haughty groove already. “Just like at the Sports Festival, you guys in Class A just  _ have _ to have all the attention, huh? You know, that attention isn’t all good, though. It’s not just because people have high hopes for you- it’s because you keep attracting trouble, right? That’s  _ really _ scary; someday, the rest of us might get caught up in your messes, you know…”

“Drop dead, scum.” Jaws dropped instead of corpses, and Iida began flailing his hands wordlessly at Izuku. A piercing glare silenced all potential scolding, however, and Izuku turned his eyes on Monoma.

“You’re pathetic. You talk a lot of shit about us  _ attracting attention _ , but won’t you be doing the same thing when you become a Hero? Unless, you’re saying you’ll become such a shitty Hero that Villains won’t waste their time on you.” The white-haired teen smirked at the thought.

Monoma opened his mouth to go on another tirade, when a hand chopped him in the side of the neck. The blond winced heavily, though looked more fearful than indignant. He was, apparently, familiar with that specific attack, and knew who it came from.

“Monoma, I hope you aren’t bothering Class A,” Kendo Itsuka said, glaring sternly at the boy, who began shaking his head.

“Absolutely not, Kendo! What do you take me for, a delinquent? I was simply… Making sure they were alright! I heard about their ordeal during the Internships, and I wanted to pass on my condolences!”

As Monoma kept making excuses, Izuku sighed and stood up. This place was getting too loud.

“Oh, hello, Midoriya-kun!” Kendo greeted him, not having noticed him yet.

“Kendo. Keep your dog on a leash- I think he’s got rabies.” With that, Izuku walked away, a concerned Setsuna trailing after him.

* * *

 

“Oh man, I really hope Kendo-san’s right! If the practical is really robots, then this’ll be  _ easy _ !” Kaminari shouted, startling Izuku awake. He picked his head up off the desk, and looked around drowsily. The students of Class 1-A were filing back in from lunch

_ Dammit, so loud as soon as they walk in- wait, robots? Did they completely ignore what I said earlier? Annoying... _

“Yeah, yeah!” Ashido agreed. “If it’s robots instead of people, I’ll definitely be able to use my Quirk properly! This’ll be a cinch!”

“A cinch!”

“A cinch!”

“ _ Shut the fuck up! _ ”

_ I was wondering how long it would Katsuki to get annoyed _ .

“Cinch, cinch- this shit ain’t gonna be easy, even  _ if _ you know what’s goin’ on- especially for dumb fuckers like you! Plus, how do we know that Class B bitch is right, hah? How fuckin’ stupid do you think U.A is, to have the same final exam every year!?”

Sufficiently cowed, Ashido and Kaminari quieted down. The rest of the class was also silent, contemplating Katsuki’s words. Apparently, they hadn’t expected the hothead to be so logical. He didn’t score fourth on the midterm for nothing, though.

“Yo, Izuku, get up. Hero Studies.”

“I’m up. Kinda hard to sleep through all you fuckers yelling.”

“Then move your lazy ass!”

* * *

 

The written exams went by quickly, despite the length of each test. Before Izuku knew it, the three days were over, and he heaved a sigh of exhaustion. He’d done a bit of light studying, just rereading some of his notes, but he was right in that he had nothing to worry about. Of course, that couldn’t be determined until the tests were actually graded, but Izuku was confident that, at the very least, he didn’t fail. Now, all that was left was the practicals...

* * *

 

“Now, we’ll begin the practical exam. It  _ is _ possible to fail this part, so if you want to go to the training camp, don’t make dumb mistakes.”

_ Well, even if I  _ do _ fail this, I don’t think I’ll be particularly torn up about it. I’ve still got some stuff to do… _

“I expect you’ve all done some information gathering, and have an idea of what’s coming-”

“We’re fighting robots like in the Entrance Exams!” Kaminari shouted, cutting their homeroom teacher off, and earning a harsh glare.

“Fireworks! Curry! Tests of Courage!” Ashido cried, already anticipating the activities of the summer training camp.

_ Guess they already forgot what Katsuki said. I didn’t expect them to be  _ this _ stupid… _

Aizawa’s scarf began shifting, and Izuku wondered if the man was going to tie up the students for being nuisances. It hardly seemed out of the realm of reality. What happened instead was a bit more unexpected; Principal Nezu popped his head out, and perched on the exhausted man’s shoulder.

“Too bad!” the animal exclaimed, “For various reasons, we’ve decided to switch things up this year! From now on, we want to focus on person-to-person combat, and Hero work! In order to do this, we’ll be having you form teams of two students to take on one teacher!”

This froze many students in their tracks, causing more than one brain to malfunction.

“In addition,” Aizawa continued, “The match-ups have already been decided by me, based on grades, fighting style, interpersonal relationships, and so on. The pairings are as follows; Sato and Kirishima against Cementoss, Asui and Tokoyami against Ectoplasm, Iida and Ojiro against Power Loader, Uraraka and Aoyama against Thirteen, Kaminari and Ashido against Principal Nezu, Jiro and Koda against Present Mic, Shoji and Hagakure against Snipe, Mineta and Sero against Midnight, Bakugou and Yaoyorozu against  _ me _ , and finally, Midoriya and Todoroki against All Might. Any questions?”

Nobody voiced anything resembling protest- they were too shocked to even speak. Aizawa nodded, as if expecting that exact reaction.

“No? Alright then. You’ll each have thirty minutes to complete the exam. Your goal is to either handcuff your opponent- just putting them on is fine, you won’t have to completely immobilize them- or have one of you two escape the area. Should either of those happen, then you’ll both pass. Sato, Kirishima, you’re up first. Follow Cementoss to the arena. Those of you waiting, you can watch or strategize- I don’t care. Just be ready when your time comes.”

* * *

 

_ Those two aren’t very good strategists, are they?  _ Hit it until it breaks _ doesn’t really work against someone who can make an absurd amount of things to break, like Cementoss. Plus, they’re definitely not on All Might’s level- they can’t just smash through Cement with a flick of their finger. Maybe Sato could’ve used his strength to chuck Kirishima at Ishiyama-sensei? Or just out of the arena in general. They wasted too much time just punching walls, and Sato ended up running out of juice. Kirishima by himself can’t break through those barriers that quickly, so it was a simple matter for Sensei to just surround them, and make the cage continuously thicker. Had that been a real fight, they would’ve been dead. _

* * *

 

_ Nice synergy, to just toss each other around like that. Plus, they cover each other’s bases fairly well. Asui’s got close-combat on a lock, with her powerful kicks. Ectoplasm’s Clones aren’t that durable, so she can take care of them pretty easily. However, with her tongue as her only ranged weapon, it’s not a good idea for her to go for reach. I’d imagine her tongue isn’t that sensitive, but it’s still a part of her body that can feel pain. If her enemy has a Fire Quirk or something, or they’re just quick enough to catch it, she’d be in a bad position. _

_ Tokoyami, on the other hand, is pretty much the opposite. He doesn’t have the physical ability or reflexes for hand-to-hand, but since Dark Shadow doesn’t feel pain, and can shape-shift out of a trap, it’s perfect for long-range. Provided the enemy doesn’t have a flashbang or something. Then again, it’s not that difficult for people to get at Tokoyami. Dark Shadow has speed, but not agility- it can’t change direction too well. If it just gets sidestepped, then he’s in big trouble. That’s where Asui comes in. Tokoyami deals with the people out of arm’s length, and Asui gets the stragglers. It helps that they’ve got pretty good mobility, too. _

_ But man, Sensei’s  _ insane _ \- who knew he could make a Clone that large? And the way they dealt with him, too. To be able to make a plan like that, even when trapped… I always knew Asui and Tokoyami were among the more rational people in this class, but this definitely cements it. _

* * *

 

_ Is Power Loader part mole? I don’t think I saw him above ground for more than thirty seconds in that match… Then again, the match  _ did _ only last for, like, ten minutes. Iida’s gotten faster, I think. It’s good that he hasn’t let his failure in Hosu affect him too much. I still want to hurt him for that, of course, but I can respect his drive. That  _ Fusion _ though… I feel kind of dirty after seeing that. Ojiro’s got great maneuverability, to be able to spin around like that in midair. Maybe I should train with Shachi for a bit? Learning martial arts would probably be a good idea. At the very least, some discipline should go a long way in keeping myself together. _

* * *

 

_ Aoyama is… An idiot. Five seconds into the match, and he’s already disabled himself? I wonder if his brain is filled with anything other than glitter… Uraraka’s got the right idea, I guess. Thirteen seems pretty hesitant to use too many fingers, and they definitely don’t like to use both hands, so attacking from different directions is a good idea. Unfortunately, since Aoyama is pretty physically incapable, Sensei can take out the real threat before Aoyama can even get close. Uraraka might be quick for a teenage girl, but it’s still nowhere  _ near  _ enough. Sensei was pretty much toying with them; in a real fight, with a destructive Quirk like Black Hole, those two would have been killed off the bat. It was pure luck that they won, but I guess using your opponent’s hesitance to kill is a valid strategy. Uraraka probably won’t be making it as a Combat Hero, and Aoyama… He’s gonna need a lot of help. _

* * *

 

_ Principal Nezu is incredible! How the heck was he able to plot out chain reactions like that from across the arena? It didn’t even look like he was trying- he just kept swinging around in that crane and drinking tea! Ashido and Kaminari never stood a chance. They don’t really have good maneuverability, and all the combat ability in the world won’t help you if you’ve got no clue where the opponent is. _

_...What’s up with that laugh, though? _

* * *

 

_ Poor Jiro. Her hearing’s already sensitive as is- I’m surprised she isn’t deaf. Hell, I’m surprised Koda isn’t deaf, either, even if he has regular ears. Present Mi cis already loud enough in classes, who knew it could get that much worse? Good on Koda for getting over his fear of bugs, though- but I wonder if Yamada-sensei’s gonna have to be sent to a psychiatric hospital. He seemed pretty traumatised... _

* * *

 

_ Hmm… I wonder, how was Snipe-sensei supposed to be a match for Hagakure? As far as I know, with his Homing, the only thing he can do is control where his bullets go. It’s perfect for hitting targets, but he kinda has to know where they are in the first place… Then again, Hagakure could probably sneak past any of them. None of the teachers have a Quirk particularly suited to taking down invisible enemies, I don’t think. Maybe Kayama-sensei could cover the place in her sleeping gas? Or Yamada-sensei could just blow their eardrums out… Shoji basically got a free pass, although he did do a good job of diverting Sensei’s attention. It was just a bad matchup for him, I think. _

* * *

 

_ Mineta… Just die. Poor Sero, he had to be paired up with that scumbag, who only ran around the entire time. Didn’t contribute shit, and only acted once Sero was already knocked out. Oh well, at least Sero looked like he was having a nice nap on Kayama-sensei’s thighs. Wonder what that’s like…? _

_ I should definitely look into getting some Support Items. Respirator to avoid gas or scent-based Quirks like Midnight’s, ear plugs to block out Present Mic, goggles, clothes with tougher material- I get my shirts destroyed way too often. I’ve been slacking on that end, for some reason. _

* * *

 

Katsuki was pissed. He did  _ not _ want to be partnered up with that shitty Vice-Rep.

“Listen, just follow me and stay the hell out of my way!” Katsuki barked, startling the girl into taking a step back. She didn’t reply, though, so he turned away from her.

_ Aizawa-sensei’s definitely gonna erase my Quirk as soon as he can, and I’ll need to know exactly when. I can just set off a bunch of firecrackers; once the noise stops, I’ll know he’s there immediately. Won’t even have to waste a second looking for signs of my Quirk being Erased. Then, I’m gonna beat that fucker into the ground! _

“TEAM BAKUGOU AND YAOYOROZU, PRACTICAL EXAM. READY, GO!”

Katsuki took off in a light jog, keeping his eyes peeled, scanning alleyways as they went past. He kept up a constant stream of tiny Explosions in his palm, though it was a bit difficult to keep them that small. The more he used his Quirk, the slicker his palms got, and it was an exercise in control to keep all the sweat from combusting. Still, it didn’t take much attention, so he wasn’t that worried about missing too much.

He was worried, however, when the crackling stopped. Katsuki whipped around in a circle, though was confused at not seeing the all-black costume of his homeroom teacher. Something like that should have stood out dramatically in the broad daylight.

“Where-!?”

“Above, fool!” Aizawa shouted, dropping down from where he was hanging by his capture gear. He kicked Yaoyorozu in the stomach, sending her tumbling down the street, then turned on the blond. Katsuki was quick, able to avoid the first three punches, but Aizawa stepped in and twisted an elbow into Katsuki’s solar plexus, winding him. A palm under the chin at the same time had Katsuki seeing stars, and he was barely aware of the capture gear wrapping around him until he was hanging like a chandelier from a telephone line.

“You- fuck! You think I can’t blow my way out of here, huh!?”

“I know you can. Just watch your step.” Aizawa chucked a bunch of black things on the ground, then took off in the direction Yaoyorozu ran. Upon closer examination, Katsuki saw that those black things had sharp tips.

_ Caltrops? The hell? As if that’s gonna stop  _ me!

The teen sparked his palms a few times, before letting loose a few small Explosions. He was careful not to use anything too big, in case he went shooting towards the ground, but eventually, the heat melted through the capture scarf. A few, more powerful, detonations allowed Katsuki to hover up and over the spiked-trapped area. He landed on a nearby rooftop, rubbing his wrists to get feeling back into them. Aizawa probably hadn’t meant to, but the man had tied that thing  _ tight _ . Then again, knowing that scruffy bastard, it was most likely on purpose.

_ Whatever. He’s fast- I can’t take him on in a straight up fight, I guess, especially not if he Erases my Quirk. Even if it’s for just ten seconds or so, he’s proven he can take me down in that amount of time, despite wearing those weighted bracers… Talk about insane. He’s distracted by Spiky Ponytail, so I can just blast my way to the gate. _

So, that’s what Katsuki did. It took a moment, but he eventually saw the direction which the gate was in. It helped that the thing was decorated with bright colors and signs with the sole purpose of making it stand out. With a running start, Katsuki leaped off the edge of the roof, and like a rocket, he propelled himself across the faux-neighborhood. He didn’t try staying in the air the entire time, instead landing on top of other buildings when he had the chance. Just in case Aizawa went after him again, he didn’t want to be absolutely exhausted. Plus, if Aizawa  _ did _ go after him, he’d rather not give the man too many opportunities to drop him out of the air with a well-timed Erase.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, Katsuki made it to the gate without any further incidents. He walked through it, and sighed in aggravation, scrubbing irately at his explosive afro.

“TEAM BAKUGOU AND YAOYOROZU HAVE PASSED!”

* * *

 

_ Would never, in a million years, have expected Katsuki to retreat from a fight. I guess months of fighting me has knocked a bit of sense into his head, especially in regards to fighting vastly-stronger opponents. Good for him. Although, I’m still gonna make fun of him. Momo looks pretty torn up about getting toyed with like that, though. I wonder if I should say anything to her…? _

“TEAM MIDORIYA AND TODOROKI, PRACTICAL EXAM. READY, GO!”

“Don’t get in my way,” Todoroki said coldly, then started running in the general direction of the gate.

_...Isn’t that what Katsuki said? Did working with Endeavor for the Internship make them the same person? _

Izuku was actually curious about what would come of this, so he deigned to lower himself to Todoroki’s speed, which was little more than a peaceful amble by his standards. It grated on his sense of self-worth to actually be listening to a worthless person like Todoroki, but he ignored it.

Their exam arena was a city block, with skyscrapers towering high above them. Despite all the tall buildings, this setting was actually rather straightforward; the road which the arena entrance put them on lead right to the end, with no turns or deviations. Even now, across the kilometer or so of asphalt between each end of the small city, Izuku could see the towering form of All Might, standing imposingly in front of their goal. His hands were on his hips, blond horns standing proudly in the air. In fact, Izuku thought he could even see the white of the Number One Hero’s signature grin.

_ Wait, why’s he-? _

A hurricane-force gale swept down the street, tearing up the road and rocking the world like an earthquake. The only thing Izuku had time to do was throw his hands up in front of his face, before both him and Todoroki were picked clean up off their feet and tossed back the way they came. They eventually touched down and rolled for a few meters. In total, Izuku was sure they’d lost around half their progress.

“Who gives a damn about damaging the city!?” All Might roared. With a stomp of his foot, the cloud of dust enveloping the miniature metropolis was blown away. “If you think of this as an exam, you’ll be sorry! I am a  _ Villain _ , Heroes- come at me with everything you’ve got!”

_ Fuck following Todoroki! _

With a half-mad cackle, Izuku launched himself at the Pro, pushing off hard enough to blast a crater in the asphalt. All Might blocked his wild kick, and responded with a hammer arm that slammed him into the street. He hit the ground with enough force to bounce. However, the teen dug his fingers into the road, allowing him to control his rotation so that he was completely upside-down, narrowly avoiding the second descending attack by a hair’s width, and plant a shin in All Might’s face. The man didn’t have Shock Absorption like the Nomu from the U.S.J incident, which meant he was staggered enough for Izuku to right himself and drive a fist into the man’s gut. All Might hunched a bit, though stood his ground. He cuffed Izuku in the side of the head, sending the teen tumbling into a building, breaking through two walls and becoming lodged halfway into the third.

Izuku blasted himself out of the building and reengaged All Might in a flurry of fists and legs. Thanks to the bracers, the Pro Hero was slowed down enough that Izuku could match him, just barely, though it did nothing to handicap his strength and durability. Every time All Might hit Izuku, the teen felt a bone or two snap. Every time Izuku hit All Might, the man moved a centimeter. Still, despite how obviously outmatched he was, Izuku could not deny that he was greatly enjoying the addictive adrenaline rush.

The white-haired teen made a mistake when he dropped to duck under a heavy cross, and replied with a series of spinning kicks from the floor, like a pop dancer. The first two were blocked with a beefy forearm. Then, the man grabbed the third kick, and hurled Izuku straight into the lower stratosphere.

_ Clouds? _

It took a few moments for Izuku to stop rotating wildly, but once he did, he simply enjoyed the sensation of being momentarily weightless.

_ Maybe I should ask Uraraka to use her Quirk on me? This is pretty peaceful. _

Then, the descent started. Izuku shouted in exhilaration at the speed, uncaring that his voice and breath were snatched away by the wind.

_ Wonder if I’ll die from hitting the ground… Nah, if I can survive one of those Nomu’s hits- and that thing didn’t hold back at all- then terminal velocity ain’t got shit on me. _

So, Izuku crossed his arms behind his head, and broke every single bone in his body ten seconds later.

“Fuck… That hurt…” he muttered, spitting up a stream of blood. “Worth it, though. I should ask Sensei to do that again.” Shaking his head to chase away the daze threatening to overcome him, Izuku stood up. He coughed a few times- his landing had kicked up a lot of dust- and looked around.

“Now… Where am I?”

* * *

 

Izuku ended up having to climb a few buildings to reorient himself, using his spider-legs to scale the sides easily. He was somewhere between the site of the fight and the exit gate. As such, he had two options right; he could either return and get his shit kicked in by the Symbol of Peace, or he could exit the arena. So, of course, he went back to the fight. Just to see how Todoroki fared, if nothing else.

_ Wow. He was talking all that shit earlier, and now he looks half-dead. _

“Ah, Midoriya-shounen! I see you’ve come back. My apologies, I didn’t think you would go that far!”

“No worries, Sensei. Just took a minute to find my way back. Don’t ever drop me in a forest with just a map and compass, though- you’ll never see me again!”

The two laughed as they exchanged blows once more. This time, All Might was the one being blown away. Well, more like knocked back a few steps, but Izuku took complete advantage of it. His kagune ripped through his shirt again, though in the form of fluid tentacles rather than spiderlegs. With All Might stumbling, he couldn’t regain his balance fast enough to dodge the kagune. They wrapped around his limbs with an iron grip, and Izuku sped forward. He slapped the handcuffs onto the Hero’s left wrist, then released him with a sigh of relief. He dropped to the floor, sprawling out across the broken road.

“Man, I’m tired. You’re really tough, you know that, Sensei?”

“So I’ve been told many times, young man,” All Might replied boisterously, flopping to the ground next to his white-haired student. “So I’ve been told.”

“TEAM MIDORIYA AND TODOROKI HAVE PASSED!”

* * *

 

**Final exams, done! I switched Katsuki and Todoroki because Izuku and Katsuki don’t hate each other like in canon. Plus, Todoroki could canonically have been replaced by Katsuki. Aizawa’s logic was that Momo hesitated, while her partner could make snap-decisions. Katsuki, as the one with the greatest battle sense (besides Izuku) fit that description fairly well.**

**Next, we’ll be going to I-Island!**

**K Bai :D**


	22. Chapter 22

“Man, I hate planes…” Izuku muttered, rubbing his temples in the hope that it would make his exhaustion go away. He never could fall asleep while in a vehicle; the fear of missing his stop, after it happened that one time on the train, kept him wide awake. That had been an embarrassing situation he hoped was never repeated.

“You said that already, Izu-kun! Let it go- we’re at I-Island! This place is amazing! Oh, is that All Might-sensei!?” Setsuna cried, pointing behind them. Indeed, a tower of blond muscle dressed in red, white, and blue was walking over, along with a smaller tower of muscle at his side. The number 1000000 was plastered across the chestplate of Mini-Might’s Hero Costume in gold lettering. Behind them was a round-face girl with a river of blue hair, and a dark-haired kid who looked like he wanted to disappear, if his slouch was any indication.

“Ho, Midoriya-shounen! What a coincidence, to see you here! How are you?”

“Hey, Sensei. I’m alright, just a bit jet-lagged. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here- Number One Hero, and all that. This your son? You two look alike.”

“Son? No, not at all! This is Togata Mirio, a third year at U.A. He’s your senpai!”

“Ah. Nice to meet you, then, Togata-senpai.”

“Nice to meet the guy that blew away the first years! You got the invitation for placing first in the Sports Fest, right? I did, too- we can be Victory Buddies!” Togata cried cheerfully, throwing an arm around Izuku’s shoulders.

“Maybe later,” Izuku said with a wry smile, ducking out of the one-armed embrace. “Oh, by the way, this is Tokage Setsuna. She’s in Class 1-B.”

“Hi hi!” Setsuna cried, throwing her arms into the air enthusiastically. The blue-haired girl responded in a similar fashion, and Izuku groaned quietly. He did not have the energy to deal with two super-bubbly girls. While the other two introduced themselves as Hadou Nejire and Amajiki Tamaki, Togata pulled him aside.

“Oh ho, Midoriya-kouhai, do I sense a summer romance brewing?”

Izuku gave the third year an odd look. “What?”

“Come on, you can tell me! As your Senpai, it’s my job to give you advice!”

“... _ What? _ ”

“Don’t play dumb, Midoriya-kun! Seriously, you get the chance to bring one person to I-Island for the biggest expo of the year, and you bring a  _ girl? _ It’s  _ obviously _ a date!” Togata whispered.

“Um, no, it’s not. I just thought she would have fun, is all. I’m too busy for stuff like that.”

Togata pulled back, giving Izuku a sly grin. “Well, if you  _ say _ so…”

“Welcome to I-Expo!” a brunette in uniform called, approaching their ragtag group. “Do you… Wait, is that All Might!?” she shrieked. Her cry caught the attention of everyone in a twenty meter radius, who then repeated her call, and drawing more people in. Within moments, the Number One Hero was surrounded by a tidal wave of ecstatic fans, and laughing boisterously.

“Thank you for such a warm welcome! Line up for autographs!”

* * *

 

An hour later, the crowd finally dispersed, and All Might was left with lipstick smeared all over his face.

“Ah ha, I didn’t expect it to take that long! I’m almost running late!”

“Sensei, I think Amajiki-senpai is traumatised.” Amajiki was huddled up in a corner, his head tucked between his knees, shivering like he had hypothermia. Hadou and Togata were crouched next to him, trying to coax him out of fetal position with soft words and gentle touches, almost like he was an injured animal. All Might looked over and laughed.

“He’ll be fine!” the man proclaimed. “Although, it might not be a good idea to try and drag him around too much. Togata-shounen, what will you be doing now?”

“Ah, me and Neji are gonna stick with Tamaki for now. You can go on ahead, Sensei!” They managed to get Amajiki standing, and herded him off to a sitting area.

“Okay! Well, in that case, Midoriya-shounen, would you and Tokage-shoujo like to accompany me? I’m going to meet a friend, but I’d like some company on the way there.”

“Uh…”

“Of course we’ll go! Right, Izu-kun?”

“ _ Uncle!” _ someone called distracting the group. Looking over, they saw a blonde woman bouncing on a pogo stick down the stairs, which seemed incredibly dangerous. Then, she hopped off the pogo stick, and went flying into All Might’s waiting arms. Her vehicle remained standing where it was, somehow, and Setsuna dragged him over to it with starry eyes.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Do you even know how to use one of those?”

“No, but I want to find out! Get ready to catch me!” And then, the lizard-girl was off. She managed three hops, before tilting too far one way and falling. Izuku sighed, jumping up in the air to retrieve the girl, causing her to squeak.

“I really think you’re an idiot,” he told her exasperatedly. When they touched down, he dumped Setsuna to the ground in a green heap, ignoring her indignant shriek.

“You’re so mean, Izu-kun!”

“And  _ you’re  _ so stupid. Stop making me have to work!”

All Might’s booming laugh reminded the pair of his presence. “My, that’s no way to treat a lady, Midoriya-shounen!”

“Doesn’t count if she’s a lizard,” he replied instantly, pointedly not looking at the crocodile tears in Setsuna’s eyes. She began to helplessly pound on his arm, which was decidedly  _ less _ easy to ignore. He managed, though.

“Oh, I almost forgot! This is the daughter of the friend I’m here to visit.”

“Melissa Shield! Nice to meet you!” she said, holding a hand for Izuku to shake.

“Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you, as well. Setsuna, pay attention.” He nudged the girl, breaking her from her hissy fit, and she switched from  _ brat _ to  _ well-adjusted member of society  _ in an instant.

“Hi! I’m Tokage Setsuna, a first year at U.A High School! I’m in the Heroics Course!”

“Oh, so you two are Uncle’s students!? That’s amazing! You must have bright futures ahead of you!”

“Yup! I’m gonna become a Pro and stop  _ all _ the bad guys!” Setsuna boasted childishly.

“What kind of Quirk do you have?” Melissa asked, circling Setsuna and examining her costume.

“It’s called Lizard Tail Splitter- don’t laugh, Izu-kun, I was  _ four- _ and it lets me separate my body into a bunch of pieces that can float!” To demonstrate, she separated a chunk of flesh from her upper arm, and had it fly in a circle above their heads. Melissa clapped in awe. Setsuna smirked mischievously, and Izuku had a bad feeling.

A moment later, the Setsuna-nugget blitzed towards his head, and would have smacked him right in the nose if he didn’t catch it.

“Ah, wait! Give it back!”

“No,” Izuku replied lazily, holding it high above his head. He kept a firm grip on the piece, despite how disgusting it felt when it wriggled in an attempt to escape. Setsuna jumped on him, and began scaling him like a monkey up a tree, until a kagune snaked out from under his shirt and wrapped around her waist. With a powerful tug, the girl ended up suspended in the air, flailing wildly.

“Izuku~! Let me go~!”

“No.”

“Fine!” She petulantly crossed her arms, turning her face away from the white-haired teen, puffing her cheeks out. For some reason, that irked Izuku fiercely, so he turned Setsuna upside-down, shaking her viciously. When he finally let her go, there were swirls in her eyes, and she drunkenly staggered into Melissa, who kept the girl steady with a nervous giggle.

“What about you, Izuku-kun? What’s your Quirk?”  
“It’s a general enhancement Quirk, plus these tentacle things.”

“Does it increase your defense a lot? Your Costume doesn’t have much armor…” It didn’t have  _ any _ armor, actually, considering he was wearing a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants- the kind you could buy at any retail store.

“I do have pretty hard skin, so it takes a lot to hurt me in the first place. I have crazy-fast regeneration though, so it doesn’t really matter if I get injured or not.”

Melissa frowned. “That’s not good. Even if you can heal, you still feel pain, don’t you?” Izuku waved a hand dismissively, and Melissa’s frown intensified.

All Might cleared his throat. “Melissa, it’s about time, I think.”

“Ah!” Melissa cried, perking up. She let go of Setsuna, and ran to pick up her pogo stick. With a click of some button, it morphed into a stream of glowing material, and flowed into her wristwatch. It was an impressive display of technological prowess.

“We’ve gotta hurry and go see Papa!” Melissa yelled, running off. “This way, Uncle Might!”

* * *

 

“I am here- shaking with emotion from our reunion!”

“Toshi… All Might!?” While the two men hugged and shared greetings, Melissa turned to the two teens.

“This is my father, David Shield,” she said, pointing at the man with glasses, wild brown hair, and a messy goatee. “He’s a pretty great inventor. Him and Uncle Might were partners in America; Papa made Uncle’s Hero Costumes!”

“Really? That’s impressive stuff- don’t think I’ve ever seen his Costume rip, even during the Final Exams,” Izuku muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Woah, seriously!? You think he could make  _ us _ something!?” Setsuna asked, jumping up and down like a rabbit. Izuku flicked her in the temple, causing her to yelp.

“Behave. He’s probably got other stuff to do.”

Melissa laughed. “Yeah, Papa’s pretty busy- comes with the territory. The scientists and researchers on I-Island always have some new project to work on. It’s all they  _ ever _ do,” she said loudly, intending for her father to hear. David blushed at the passive-aggressive admonishment.

“Well, it’s just that some of the stuff we get our hands is pretty interesting. There’s no way I can simply put down my research once I really get started,” David muttered sheepishly.

Melissa smiled at him. “Yes, Papa, I understand, but that doesn’t mean you do it at the cost of your health-  _ or  _ your hygiene!”

“Yes, yes. I’ll be sure to pay more attention to that in the future. At least Sam keeps it from getting too bad, right?” Melissa nodded. “Alright, it’s been a while since me and Toshi have last been able to speak face-to-face. Do you think you kids can give us some time alone? Melissa, why don’t you show them around the Expo?”

“Of course, Papa! I’d be honored to go around with some future Heroes!”

* * *

 

“This place is  _ huge! _ ” Setsuna shouted, spreading her arms wide to gesture at everything. “How the heck is it  _ entirely _ man-made!?”

“A lot of Support Companies pooled resources to make it possible. We’ve got all the facilities of a large city, including shopping centers, restaurants, and even an academy. Just about the only thing we can’t do here is travel.”

“Hm? Why’s that?” Setsuna asked, placing a finger against her lip in curiosity.

“All the scientists here are doing some pretty important research, so they’re not allowed to leave- to prevent information leaks. I-Island takes security pretty seriously; it’s why the measures here are a match match for Tartarus, the most heavily-guarded maximum security prison in the world. Nobody’s  _ ever _ committed a crime here.”

Setsuna stopped paying attention to Melissa, choosing to gawk at something that caught her eye. “Woah, it’s the Monster Hero: Godzilla! He’s been my idol since my Quirk manifested!”

“Why? ‘Cause he’s a big lizard?” Izuku asked.

“ _ Yes, _ ” Setsuna said, glaring heatedly at the white-haired teen. 

Izuku shook his head, smiling a bit. He refrained from commenting, though.

“He must’ve been invited by a sponsor,” Melissa interjected, also grinning. “A lot of Heroes are, to sign autographs, show off the latest gear, and just mingle with all the important people.”

“So, does that mean  _ we’re _ important people? Since we got invitations, and all.” Setsuna looked pretty serious about that question.

“Eh… Maybe?” Melissa responded, unsure of how to handle that. Izuku pitied the girl, so he took over.

“Not  _ us _ , just me. I’m the one that got the invitations in the first place.”

“So mean, Izu-kun!”

“Oh, oh, let’s go check out the Pavillion!”

* * *

 

“This place has a lot of the newest Hero Support items on display! You can even interact with some of them! Look at this! The multipurpose Beagle, which can fly  _ and _ move underwater!”

Setsuna gasped. “So cool! I want one!”

“I do, too! Next, this diving suit, which can allow you to go seven  _ thousand _ meters deep in the ocean!”

“The heck? Are they trying to find Atlantis or something?” Izuku asked.

“Who knows? There’s a lot of interesting stuff that deep. Next, this pair of goggles! It has  _ thirty-six _ different sensors!”

Melissa pushed the helmet down on Izuku’s head, and a bunch of holographic screens flared into existence. Izuku pulled the thing off in five seconds, placing it back down on its pedestal, then rubbed furiously at his eyes.

“Ow. Too much. Way, way,  _ way  _ too much...” he moaned.

“Yeah, that’s the normal reaction,” Melissa said, chuckling. Setsuna was doubled over laughing. “Sorry, I forget that that’s made for people with Mind-Enhancing Quirks.”

Setsuna was still guffawing, which irritated Izuku. “You think that’s so funny?” he asked menacingly. He reached over and grabbed the top of the girl’s head in a palm, and slowly began applying more and more pressure with his fingers, like a slowly-shrinking cage.

“Ow, ow,  _ ow! _ Wait, stop, you’re gonna break it!”

“Good!”

“Ah, now, now, Izuku-kun, she was only joking, you know…” Izuku sighed, and released the green-haired lizard. He didn’t exactly want to make Melissa feel awkward, since she was going through all the trouble of showing them around. He did flick Setsuna in the nose for good measure, though, making it turn a bright red.

“You look like you’re having fun, Midori-chan.”

“Hm? Oh, Uraraka. What’re you doing here?”

“You look like you’re having fun.”

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the girl.  _ Did she go brain-dead while I wasn’t looking or something? _

“Ahem?”

“Momo? Jiro?”

“You did look like you were having quite a lot of fun, Midoriya-kun,” Momo said, looking somewhat disgruntled.

“Where the hell did you three come from?”

“Are these friends of yours, Izuku-kun?” Melissa asked.

“Ah, these are classmates of mine,” Izuku told her, pointing at each girl as he introduced them. “Uraraka Ochako, Jiro Kyoka, and… Momo. Sorry, but I still don’t know how to say your surname. You three, this is Melissa Shield. If you don’t remember Setsuna, there’s something wrong with your heads.”

“Oh-ho? Are you saying I’m unforgettable, Izu-kun?”

“Yeah. You haunt me like a traumatic experience.”

“So mean!”

“Would you all like to go have tea at a cafe?” Melissa asked the group, cutting off the possible argument.

* * *

 

“Oh, you’ve all had experience working with Pro Heroes!?” Melissa asked, awed.

“Just training and going on patrol,” Uraraka said embarrassedly.

“I got caught up in an incident, but all I did was evacuate people,” Jiro admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

“For some reason, I ended up being in a TV commercial,” Momo muttered, dropping her head.

“I went to the same place as Yaomomo, so I was on TV, too. Did you see us!? We were with Uwabami!” Setsuna cried, excited at the thought of being famous already.

_ Damn, they’re so loud _ , Izuku thought, scrolling through his phone. He was sitting at a separate table from the ladies, enjoying the meager peace and silence. A place like the I-Expo was bound to get noisy, so he needed to savor the quiet times while he could. The sound of glass knocking against glass had Izuku looking up, to see his mug of coffee being placed on the table.

“Thanks for waiting!” the waiter said.

_...Do I know that voice? _

Looking up, Izuku was shocked to see yet another classmate of his. “Kaminari?”

“And me!” someone cried. Izuku looked down to see Mineta, whom he promptly ignored. The girls were quite excited to see more people they knew, even if they weren’t particularly well-liked.

“What’re you two doing?” Jiro asked.

“They needed some temporary staff for the Expo, so we applied! Even if working during our vacation sucks, at least we’re getting paid, so it’s all good!” Kaminari exclaimed, shooting a thumbs-up at the ladies.

“And the best part is,” Mineta said, “The chance of having wonderful meetings with beautiful girls!” His eyes zeroed in on the newcomer Melissa, whose bust was on par with Momo’s. “Hey, Midoriya, where’d you meet that hottie?” Mineta whispered to Izuku. “Introduce us to her!” He was too busy ogling the blonde to notice the crimson tentacle snaking towards him, until the razor-sharp point of a spiderleg rested against his neck.

“Go near any of them, and I slit your throat,” Izuku said blandly, not taking his eyes off his phone.

“Eh, uh, what about me, Midoriya?” Kaminari asked, tugging nervously at his uniform’s collar. Izuku’s eyes flicked up to scan Kaminari’s face.

“...I’ll let you off with a broken spine.” The two pervy boys backed off after that, fear written all over their faces.

_ “What are you standing around for!? If you’re going to take the money, then WORK HARDER!” _

Iida came sprinting in at high speeds, stopping just before he barreled into Kaminari and Mineta. As it was, they had to tumble to the ground to avoid getting forcefully knocked over.

“You’re here too, Iida?” Izuku asked, slightly annoyed now.  _ How many of these fuckers  _ are _ there? _

“Yes! As a member of a family of Heroes, I received an invitation. Unfortunately, as my parents were busy, only I and my elder brother are able to attend. Because my parents would rather not waste the two extra invitations, I gave them to Bakugou-kun and Kirishima-kun, since they were the ones who seemed most excited about coming here.”

“You too, Iida-san? My father received three invitations, because he owns stocks in the companies of some I-Expo sponsors, but my parents were also busy.”

“So,” Jiro cut in, “Since Yaomomo had two extra invites, we girls decided who would go with an impartial game of chance. Obviously, me and Raka-chan won, so here we are!”

“The other girls came to the island, too, but they won’t be attending the party today. Instead, we’ll all be checking out the Expo tomorrow, once it’s open to the public,” Uraraka said.

“Aw, poor them,” Setsuna said. She stood from her chair and wandered over to Izuku, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind, resting her chin in his forest of white hair. “I was lucky enough to have Izu-kun give me his second invitation!” Izuku grunted, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Eh? So, it’s like  _ that? _ ” Uraraka asked, holding up her pinky finger. Izuku responded by holding up his middle finger.

“Midoriya-kun, that is  _ completely _ uncalled for!” Iida admonished, and began scolding the teen even more furiously when the one-finger salute was raised in his direction.

Melissa chuckled. “So, would you all like me to show you around? I’m not particularly busy…”

“Would you really?” Momo asked, starry-eyed. Melissa’s nod had the girls cheering and clapping.

“Take us with you too!” Kaminari cried, begging the blonde girl on his knees, alongside Mineta. The idiots pretended they didn’t notice the red-eyed glare burning holes into the back of their heads.

Izuku was distracted from his thoughts of murder by an explosion rocking the cafe, nearly making him spill his coffee. Instead, he drained it, placing the mug on the table along with a few bills from his wallet, and ran to check it out.

The source was an artificial mountain, surrounded by spectator stands. Obviously, it was a part of the Expo.

“ _ Clear time; thirty-three seconds. Eighth place!”  _ a voice shouted over the mic. On the holographic screens, Izuku watched the smoke clear away, revealing the wild red hair of Kirishima.

_ “Now, time for the next challenger!” _ Unsurprisingly, considering Iida’s explanation earlier, Katsuki walked out to stand in the white circle.  _ “Villain attack! Ready,.. Go!” _

Katsuki took off with a bang, shooting himself around the mountain, using each explosion to simultaneously take down an enemy and propel himself at the next one in a stunning display of efficiency.

“DIE!”

_ Always with that stupid fucking catchphrase. _ Izuku shook his head in amusement.

_ “This is amazing! He cleared it in fifteen seconds- first place!” _

Katsuki walked back to the spectator stands, a satisfied grin on his face. Until he looked up, that is, and caught sight of the incredibly-noticeable white hair of his best friend, who greeted him with a jaunty wave and a lopsided smile. Katsuki took a step back in shock, before blasting himself to crash into the other side of the railing Izuku was leaning against.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!” he roared, baring his teeth at Izuku, who just leaned away and chuckled.

“You know, if you say shit like that, I’m just gonna be even  _ more  _ tempted to do it.”

“If you embarrass me, I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Uh-huh. Like you actually  _ could _ .”

_ “Our next challenger! Ready, go!” _

The ground shook, and a glacier suddenly rose up, covering the mountain.

_ “Woah! Fourteen seconds! A new first place- he jumped to the top!” _

Izuku and Katsuki broke away from their confrontation to glance at the new competitor, and had their suspicions confirmed; Todoroki. The heterochromatic boy glanced at the two friends, and smirked. Katsuki, never one to let a perceived insult go, jumped down to yell at their classmate.

“Half-and-Half bastard! Appearing suddenly like that to try and make everyone think you’re amazing, hah!? I’ll fucking crush you!”

A slap cut Katsuki off, causing the blond to pitch forward and faceplant.

“WHO THE  _ FUCK _ -!?”

“Shut up. You’re making a scene.” Katsuki growled at Izuku, but sulkingly flew back up into the stands. Izuku and Todoroki exchanged looks of mutual dislike, before Todoroki turned to his creation. WIth his left arm, he bathed the area in a sea of fire, melting the majority of the ice in under a minute. The remnants were outside the arena, and therefore inconsequential. Izuku raised an eyebrow at the teen so casually breaking his  _ oath _ , but those thoughts were buried by the silent glint of challenge in Todoroki’s eyes; a dare to try and do better.

“Ah, I don’t really wanna rip my shirt…” Izuku muttered. He pulled it off, tossing it at the announcer lady, who turned bright red. A moment later, his eight spider legs ripped through his back, and Izuku crouched low. “Alright, ready.”

“ _ O-our next challenger is a spur-of-the-moment entrant. Villain Attack! Ready… Go!” _

Izuku broke the ground on takeoff, using his kagune to maneuver himself while still in the air. They also had the added benefit of being able to reach fairly long distances, so it was a simple matter to have them shoot around the mountain and stab clean through the robots. Izuku touched down on the top of the mountain without breaking a sweat.

_ “T-Ten seconds! This is incredible! He leaps to first place, blowing away the competition!” _

* * *

 

“You’re a piece of shit.”

“Aw, is someone  _ jealous? _ ”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU SHITTY  _ NERD! _ ”

“Ah, is this normal?” Melissa asked the girls. Setsuna shrugged; she wasn’t in their class, so she had no clue. Momo was the one to answer.

“Unfortunately, it is. Bakugou-kun and Midoriya-kun are friends from the same junior high school, though sometimes I wonder.”

“Maybe it’s just friendly male rivalry?” Uraraka wondered out loud.

“I don’t think that’s really  _ friendly _ ,” Jiro muttered, watching as Katsuki repeatedly tried to blow up Izuku, only to get a faceful of boot from the laughing teen.

“Ah, look at the time! We need to go start getting ready for the party!” Momo cried, suddenly panicked.

Izuku glanced at the girl in confusion, then at his phone. “Um, it’s four o’clock. The party starts at  _ seven. _ ”

“Exactly! We have to hurry! Thanks for showing us around, Melissa-san!” Momo said, grabbing the girls- except Setsuna- and dragging them off. The lizard girl wandered up to Izuku.

“Do you think  _ I _ should start getting ready now?”

“Dunno. How long do you think you’ll take?”

“Ah… Maybe an hour? I don’t really use makeup or anything like that.”

“Then wait a bit. We’ll go back at the same time.”

“‘Kay~”

* * *

 

“Ouch! Hot!” Setsuna cried, shaking her finger and blowing on the rapidly-reddening skin.

“Need help?” Izuku asked.  
“Would you?” Setsuna literally threw the hair-straightener at him, and he caught it by the heated pads. The girl seemed appropriately contrite, so he let her off with just a mild glare, before moving to stand behind her chair.

“You’re lucky my skin’s not as soft as yours.”

“Oh? You know how soft my skin is? Did you cop a feel while I was sleeping on the plane?”

Izuku yanked her hair a little bit, eliciting a yelp, then began the methodical dragging of the straightener. “Careful- we’re sharing the same hotel room. I might do more than just cop a feel.”

“Hmm… I don’t think I’d be particularly against that.”

Izuku sighed. “Of course you wouldn’t. Stop moving!”

“Sorry~.”

* * *

 

“Ah, wait,” Setsuna said, just before they were about to walk out. She stepped closer to him, and began fidgeting with his tie. She saw the confusion on his face when she was done. “Your tie was crooked.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“By the way, how do I look?” Setsuna asked, spinning around and striking a pose. She wore a long-sleeved dress, which stopped halfway to her knees, exposing a fair amount of leg. The cloth was rather tight-fitting, showing off her moderate curves, further amplified by the belt wrapped around her waist. It was a vibrant emerald color, the same as Izuku’s eyes, and slightly lighter than her hair. On her feet was a pair of black high-heeled boots, the tops rising to cover her ankles. A simple jade-bead necklace adorned her neck, and that was all in the way of accessories.

“So much green- are you trying to become a plant or something?”

“And what if I am?” Setsuna asked indignantly, crossing her arms beneath her bust, pushing it up slightly.

“Nothing, nothing. You look surprisingly good, though.”

“Surprisingly!? Fine, I guess I  _ won’t _ compliment you, if that’s how you’re gonna be.” She huffed and turned away, walking out the room. Izuku chuckled.

The white-haired teen was wearing a simple slim-cut dinner suit, a violently dark shade of black which contrasted heavily with his mane, and the white dress shirt underneath the suit jacket. Polished black, round-toe Oxfords on his feet, a silver watch on his wrist, and an emerald tie around his neck completed the ensemble.

Izuku strode after the girl, laughing, his long legs allowing him to catch up in moments, and they began the quiet walk to the party venue.

* * *

 

“You’re late!” Iida shouted, the moment Izuku and Setsuna entered the building. Everybody he’d seen earlier in the day was there, excluding Katsuki, Kirishima, and Melissa. Iida wore a blue suit, Todoroki a white, and Mineta and Kaminari were still wearing their cafe uniforms.

Momo wore a pale green dress, with two thin straps wrapped over her shoulders. The top of her ample cleavage was shown. Her hair was done up in a slightly-fancier spiky ponytail, held in place with a yellow butterfly clip.

Behind Momo, hiding from the perverted gazes of Kaminari and Mineta, was Jiro. Despite her punk-rock image, she was wearing a frilly magenta dress. A small black jacket hung on her shoulders. Half of her bangs were held to the side of her head with a pink boy. She nervously clutched her Earphone Jacks with red, fingerless gloves.

Uraraka also wore a frilly dress, though it was more white, with bright pink highlights- a contrast to her black stockings. A down-folded, incredibly-low collar exposed her shoulders and collarbones. A white flower on a black ribbon hung in her hair.

“Oh, you’re all still here? The party’s starting!” Melissa cried as she jogged into the room. Kaminari and Mineta dropped to their knees, praising all the deities they could name for allowing them to rest their eyes on this beauty.

Melissa’s dress was two separate colors; a blue top and a white skirt, separated by a black belt wrapped around her waist. A white flower was attached to the knot in the belt. A black bow tied her hair in a simple curly ponytail, and a red headband kept her shorter blonde strands out of her face.

“Neither Bakugou-kun or Kirishima-kun are answering their phones,” Iida said loudly, looking decidedly irritated. “Even though we are supposed to go as a group, those two…! Midoriya-kun, can you try contacting Bakugou-kun?”

“Nah. Left my phone in the hotel room; didn’t want it slipping out of my pockets.”

“Really?” Setsuna asked. “I thought you said it was because you  _ didn’t want annoying bitches to be calling you all the goddamned time _ , right?”

“That, too.”

**“THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE I-ISLAND SECURITY SYSTEM. WE HAVE RECEIVED A REPORT FROM THE SECURITY SYSTEM THAT AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE WAS PLACED IN THE I-EXPO AREA. I-ISLAND WILL NOW BE IN HIGH-ALERT MODE. RESIDENTS AND TOURISTS SHOULD RETURN TO THEIR HOMES OR LODGINGS. THOSE THAT HAVE COME A LONG WAY SHOULD GO AND WAIT AT THE NEAREST EVACUATION CENTER. ANYONE STILL OUTSIDE TEN MINUTES FROM NOW MAY BE ARRESTED WITHOUT WARNING. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM GOING OUTDOORS. IN ADDITION, MOST OF THE MAIN BUILDINGS WILL BE SEALED OFF BY THE SECURITY SYSTEM. I REPEAT…”**

Metal sheets slid out from the walls to cover the windows and the front doors. Jiro attempted to call an elevator, but to no avail.

“I don’t think the security system would go into high-alert just because of a bomb…” Melissa muttered.

“Why don’t we go to the party? There’s supposed to be a lot of Heroes there, right? I know All Might is,” Izuku said, which made everyone perk up.

“Ah, good idea, Izuku-kun!” Melissa said. “We can take those emergency stairs to get close- follow me!

* * *

 

“Shit…” Izuku muttered. He was leaning over a railing, and could see through the glass skylight of the party room that All Might was currently wrapped in glowing blue rope, seemingly unable to move.

“That’s part of the island’s security system, to detain Villains! Why is it being used on the Heroes!?” Melissa cried.

All Might was shifting, struggling to break free from his bonds, when he glanced up and saw the white hair of his student. He froze, for the slightest of instants, then relaxed a bit. He was no longer trying to break through, but he still looked incredibly agitated. Jiro popper her head over the railing, waving at the muscular man, and pointing at her Earphone Jacks. All Might nodded in understanding. A minute later, Jiro detached her Jacks from the ground, shaking in terror.

“This is really,  _ really _ bad! Villains have taken over the security system, and they’re holding everyone on the island hostage- including the Heroes!”

* * *

 

The teens were all gathered in the stairwell, unsure what to do, when Iida stood and began speaking.

“We have received All Might’s message; we should do as our Sensei says, and escape this place.”

“I…I agree with Iida-kun. We are still students, without our Hero Licenses. Trying to act against the Villains would be a violation of the law.”

“Oh, what if we escape, and get help from Heroes on the outside?” Kaminari asked, showing a surprising amount of logic. Melissa seemed unsure.

“It would be hard to escape from here- more so if we try and stay undetected. I-Island has a security system on par with that of Tartarus. We’d definitely be found out, sooner or later.”

Kaminari grimaced. “Then… Do we just stay here and wait until we get rescued?”

Shockingly, it was Jiro who piped up. “Kaminari, are you really okay with that? Aren’t you trying to become a Hero? Shouldn’t you try to go help?”

“Oi, oi!” Mineta cried, waving his hands wildly. “Those Villains already captured the Pros- including  _ All Might! _ What’re  _ we _ supposed to do!?”

“Jiro-san is right…” Todoroki muttered, though everybody heard in the enclosed space. “We’re trying to become Heroes… So is it really okay for us to just sit back without doing anything?”

The group went silent, thinking over his words. True, they  _ were _ training to become Heroes, but the key word there was  _ training _ . Though they might have the ability, they had neither the experience nor legal jurisdiction to actively go out and fight Villains. There was a reason these kinds of things were left to the Pros; what if they made a mistake, and the situation became unsalvageable? That would be entirely on their heads. But… What do you do when the Heroes need saving?

“I think we should go help them,” Izuku said, startling everyone out of their thoughts.

“Didn’t you learn anything from the U.S.J, Midoriya!?” Mineta shouted, his voice echoing through the stairwell. Jiro winced.

“Yes, you little shit, I  _ did _ . That’s why we’re not going to  _ fight  _ the Villains. All Might said they took control of the security system, right? So, if we can manage to reboot the system and free the Heroes, then  _ they _ can do the fighting, right?”

“I-Island’s security system is centered at the top floor of this tower,” Melissa said hesitantly. “If the Villains took control of it, then the authentication and passwords have likely been disabled… If I can get to the main terminal, I should be to restart the system.”

“But, won’t the Villains be on the top floor as well?” Momo asked. “Would it really be possible to avoid conflict?”

Izuku shifted his jaw. He wasn’t really sure, to be honest. “We can deal with that when we get to it. Melissa, can you lead us up the tower unseen?”

“Maybe. Since we haven’t been attacked yet, it’s possible that the Villains don’t know how to efficiently operate the security cameras, which means they won’t be able to see us if we avoid purposely triggering any alarms.”

“Alright. Let’s go, now. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that this situation will turn nasty.”

“I’m coming with you, Izuku,” Setsuna said, uncharacteristically quiet. He nodded.

“Anyone else?”

Slowly, everyone else agreed. Except for Mineta.

“Y-you guys are insane! All of you! We’re just students- how are we supposed to outsmart these Villains if they were able to take control of  _ I-Island _ !?”

“Then sit here and rot!” Izuku snapped. He turned to Melissa, who glanced at Mineta, before narrowing her eyes. She nodded resolutely, and turned to head up the emergency staircase. The group of students trailed after her, fancy shoes clicking against the steps.

“Ah! Fine! I just have to follow you, right!?” Mineta cried, following after the teens with hurried steps.

“Stay out of the way, and you should be fine,” Izuku called over his shoulder. “Just don’t complain if you accidentally die or something.”

* * *

 


	23. Chapter 23

They’d been running up stairs for quite a while, an annoying task made even more agonizing by the fact that Izuku had to match pace with the rest of the students.

_ Thirtieth floor, huh?  _

“Melissa, how far until we reach the top?”

“Ah… The main terminal is on the two-hundredth floor…”

“Oh my  _ fuck _ . Can I just grab you and blitz the rest of the way up? We’ll never make it at this rate.”

“Absolutely  _ not _ , Midoriya-kun!” Iida cried. “We are up against ruthless Villains! No matter how skilled you may be, you can still be overwhelmed!”

“Regardless of the fact that it’d be stealthier to move with only two of us, rather than this entire group?” Izuku shot back.

“Even so,” Iida said, nodding firmly. “It is likely that, despite our best efforts, we may still run into Villains, and it would be better for us if we were all together in such an event.”

Izuku glared at Iida for being logical, then looked beseechingly at Melissa, who shrugged with a wavering chuckle. “Iida-kun is right. If these Villains managed to forcefully take over I-Island, there’s no telling  _ what _ they can do.”

Izuku sighed, and they went back to running.

* * *

 

The first blockade made itself known on the eightieth floor, in the form of a metal barrier prevent access to the stairs from that point on.

“The shutters!?” Iida cried, panting. Even he, who was used to long-distance runs as a part of his Quirk training, was out of breath from the sheer amount of stairs they’d climbed. Momo, Setsuna, and Todoroki were only slightly worse off, but Uraraka, Jiro, Kaminari, and Mineta were absolutely dead on their feet. At one point, Melissa had been lagging severely behind even the purple runt, so Izuku simply picked her up and continued on.

“Should we break it?” Todoroki asked, looking all geared up to do so.

“No!” Melissa cried, still held by the white-haired teen. “If you do that, you’ll alert the security system!”

“Oh, why don’t we just go through here?” Mineta asked, wandering over to the metal door. He pulled the handle, and the door swung.

“No!” Melissa shouted, but it was too late. The beeping noise of the mechanism echoed through the stairwell, and the teens all looked at Mineta with rising horror.

“You  _ stupid fuck! _ ” Izuku hissed, setting Melissa on her feet. He was ready to walk over and punt the fool out the nearest window- or through a wall, if he had to- but managed to restrain himself. It was a close thing, though, involving lots of deep breaths and fist-clenching.

“L-let’s just keep going, alright? There’s nothing to be done for it now,” Melissa said, laying a gentle hand on Izuku’s arm. Setsuna did the same from the other side.

“Yeah, you can hurt him later, Izuku!” Setsuna said diplomatically, nodding her head exaggeratedly like a wise sage. Izuku relaxed his tense muscles, and smiled tightly at the two girls, who were relieved to avoid the crisis. Now was  _ not _ the time for in-fighting.

“Is there any other way to go up, Melissa-san?” Iida asked, leading them through the halls of the eightieth floor.

“Y-yeah! On the opposite side, there’s another emergency staircase!”

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t make it there, because metal barricades shot out of the ceiling and floor, meeting in the center to form multiple, near-impenetrable layers. In front of them, past the rapidly-closing shutter, was a door in the side of the hall. The shutter past that door was already sealed shut, so it was their only option.

Todoroki leapt forward, stomping his right foot on the ground. A wave of ice shot forward, and the small glacier wedged itself between the steel plates, stopping their movement. The students could hear the ice groaning, as it came closer and closer to breaking apart, trapping them.

Izuku’s eight kagune burst through the back of his dress shirt and suit jacket, though he ignored the ripping of the expensive clothes. In their fluid state, the crimson tentacles wrapped around the eight U.A students. Izuku gathered Melissa in his arms once more, and leapt through the gap created by Todoroki. It was just large enough that he managed to get through without slamming anyone’s head against the metal, though he was sorely tempted to do so with a certain midget.

When they landed, Izuku dropped all the students, not paying attention to whether they landed properly or not, and shifted his kagune into their spiderleg form. They shot forward, digging into the thin steel of the door in front of him. With a few tugs, the barrier was ripped out of its slot, the pieces tossed carelessly to the side.

Inside, Izuku was a bit surprised to see a small forest. A brick pathway cut through the trees and dense foliage, lined on the side with rails and streetlights. “What is this place?”

“It’s a plant factory,” Melissa replied, “For research on how Quirks influence plants.”

They began running down the path, until Jiro shouted for them to wait. “Look!” she cried, pointing to the tube they were approaching. “The elevator- it’s coming up!” Indeed, the green monitor above the double-door displayed a rapidly-rising number.

“We should hide, and let them pass us!” Iida said, pointing at a random bush. The group did as he suggested, and crouched down in the leaves. Izuku had to hide behind a tree; his white hair was a dead giveaway.

“Keep your heads down!” Izuku hissed at the other teens. They had the tops of their hair exposed, to stare at the elevator intensely, and the two blondes stuck out like sore thumbs. Slightly panicked, they did so, and everyone went silent, save for their incredibly soft breathing. Then, the elevator dinged.

Taking a risk, Izuku peered around the trunk of the tree he was behind, using a hand to smooth his wild hair back and reduce the chance of it poking out. He saw a short, stout, plain-faced man walk out alongside an incredibly tall twig. The second man’s hair jutted wildly out from his elongated face. It was like a teal, half-shaved lion’s mane. They were dressed in dark gray combat pants, black t-shirts, and kevlar vests.

_ The Villains from the party… _

They weren’t carrying weapons, like some of the other grunts, so Izuku knew their Quirks had to be combat-oriented, and likely incredibly dangerous. The men walked out the elevator, combat boots clicking against the bricks, making idle talk.

“They said those kids were here,” short-n-stout rumbled.

“Man, they picked an annoying place to be,” tall-n-thin whined, scratching at his extended forehead. He stopped suddenly, slamming his foot on the ground. “I found ya, you damn kids!” he yelled, and Izuku’s heart jumped. Making a split-second decision, he spun out from behind his cover, and launched himself at the loud one. Goat-face went flying with a dropkick to the face, disappearing into the trees. He was definitely knocked out, if the sharp teeth scattered on the paved floor was any indication.

“Nobu!” the short one shouted, startled. He reacted quickly, however, and when Izuku went to slam a kick into his head, the teen only collided with a purple leg, clad in ripped pants. “Don’t underestimate me, damned brat!” the now-hulking beast yelled, swinging a meaty fist into Izuku’s side. Due to his relatively low mass, the teen tumbled across the floor for a few dozen meters, until he managed to stabilize himself.

His opponent’s Quirk seemed to be a combination of slight Gigantification and Strength, turning him into the hairy purple monster raging at him. A flood of ice covered him, which the Villain broke through with a few punches. While he was distracted, Izuku sped forward and delivered a punishing stomp to his knee, bending the joint sideways at an unnatural angle, causing him to fall. The Villain roared, until Izuku silenced him with a heavy blow to the jaw, using the combined might of his kagune. He went down hard, cratering the floor with his misshapen head. A moment later, the purple beast was once more a tiny, narrow-eyed man.

“Izuku!?” a familiar voice cried, and the white-haired teen turned to see Katsuki, staring at him in shock. He was dressed in a rose-patterned vest, red dress shirt, and black pants. Next to him was Kirishima, wearing a slightly-baggy blue suit.

“Katsuki!? How the fuck did you get here!?” Izuku asked.

“Ah, we were trying to find the reception, but we got a little lost,” Kirishima said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Izuku shook his head.

“You guys are fucking idiots. Who gets lost looking for something on the first floor, and end up on the eightieth?”

“Forget that!” Katsuki growled, “The hell just happened!?”

“Didn’t you hear the broadcast?” At the blank looks, Izuku sighed. “Villains have taken over the tower- they’re holding the entire island hostage.”

“So what’re you guys doing up here, then?” Kirishima asked, gesturing to the rest of the students emerging from the bushes.

“We’re going to the top, to reset the security system and free the Heroes. Speaking of which- Melissa, where do we go from here?”

“I’m not sure… I’d guess that, since the shutters on this floor have all been closed, that they’d do the same with the rest of the building.” She glanced up, scanning the roof. Apparently, she found what she was looking for, because she pointed enthusiastically. “Oh, there! The maintenance room for the sunlight system! There’s a manual ladder… But it only opens on the inside…” Melissa trailed off, downtrodden.

“I may be able to be of some assistance!” Momo exclaimed. All eyes turned to her. Activating her Quirk, a shimmering rainbow covered her chest, and she Created…

“Is that a fucking grenade launcher!?”

“Indeed! Please cover your ears!”

**_BOOM!_ **

“Holy  _ shit _ …” Izuku muttered, staring at the gaping hole in the ceiling. He snapped his head to Momo. “What the fuck kind of chemical formulas are you memorizing!?”

“Very useful ones,” Momo replied smugly. Surprisingly, she met his eyes this time. Unfortunately, she seemed to realize it, because a moment later, she looked away, flustered. Izuku sighed inaudibly, turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

“Now we need someone to get up there… Setsuna. Levitation is part of your Quirk. Go.”

The green-haired girl crossed her arms, seemingly deep in thought. “Hmm… I dunno. That seems like a lot of work, you know. I might need a little… _ Up-front payment _ ,” she purred, stepping closer to Izuku.

“Now is not the time for your bullshit.”  
“No, it’s the _perfect_ time, because I’m the one with all the power!” she cried, cackling madly. Izuku glared at the girl, kakugan burning a hole into her. She gulped, taking a step back, but remained strong. “You’re not gonna scare me this time, Izu-kun!”

Izukiu growled, baring his teeth at the lizard girl, but eventually sighed, dropping his head. “ _ Fine _ . What do you want?”

“Kiss!”

“...What.”

“I want a kiss! On the lips!” Setsuna cried, tapping her mouth and tilting her head up.

“Stop behaving like a deviant!” Iida shouted, chopping his hand at the lizard girl.

“H-how improper!” Momo cried, a hand in front of her mouth to hide her shock.

“And if I don’t?” Izuku asked, ignoring his high-class peers.

“You’re actually considering it!?” Momo shrieked. Setsuna shot her a smug grin.

“Then you’ll just have to find another way up! How’re your rock-climbing skills, Izuku?” she asked haughtily, smirking at him.

“... I’m gonna maim you for this later.” In an instant, Izuku stepped forward and leaned down, pressing his lips against Setsuna’s. She froze in shock for a moment, but then wrapped her arms around his neck, while his encircled her slim waist.

Five seconds… Ten seconds… After fifteen seconds, Izuku finally pulled back, and breathed in deeply. He licked his lips, then pursed them. “There, happy?”

Setsuna was quiet for a moment, eyes still closed in dazed bliss, before they popped open and she nodded ecstatically. “Yup! Good thing we’re sharing a hotel room- I’m gonna do  _ so _ many naughty things to you later!” With that parting statement, Setsuna split into twenty-five pieces (an improvement from before, he noticed) and floated up into the vents high above.

Izuku shoved his hands into his pockets, then noticed the rest of the rescue group staring at him. They were still as statues, silent as the grave- Izuku wasn’t even sure if all of them were breathing.

“What?”

* * *

 

When they got up the ladder, Setsuna was looking inordinately pleased with herself, as if she did something worth actually being proud of, rather than just floating through a vent..

“Praise me!” she cried, flinging herself at Izuku. He patted her on the head a single time.

“Good job.” His patronizing tone made the girl pout, but she accepted it nonetheless.

“Your Quirk is amazing, Setsuna-san!” Melissa cried. “As expected of a Heroics Course student!”

Setsuna pointed at the blonde. “Why can’t you be more like that!?”

Izuku flicked her in the forehead.

* * *

 

“Man, we got really lucky!” Kaminari commented, “All the shutters have been raised since we passed the hundredth floor!”

“That’s not as good as you think it’d be,” Izuku muttered.

“It’s entirely likely that the Villains did it to either lull us into a false sense of security, or to lead us to a certain place,” Momo said, eliciting noises of agreement from most of the group. Kaminari paled.

“We have no choice!” Iida said intensely, conviction layering his words. “If that’s what it takes, to get just a little bit closer to our goal, then we’ll spring this trap! We’ve come too far!”

“YEAH!”

* * *

 

On floor one-thirty, they came upon a room full of generators. A cross-shaped walkway connected three doors. The final path led to a large pillar, with neon-green lights wrapped around it, sort of like a glowstick. Opposite the glowing column was the door the students were currently huddled behind.

“It looks like they’re trying to capture us now, rather than simply stopping us,” Iida noted, observing the red drones idly wheeling around in the room.

“They’ve definitely been tracking our progress with the cams, so they’ve probably seen our faces… Do you think they know we’re U.A students?” Setsuna asked.

“No doubt about it. They’re probably trying to capture us in the hopes of using us as high-profile hostages. Even if the Villains somehow lose control of the security system, the Heroes still won’t be able to attack if the Villains have children,” Izuku said.

Jiro, whose Earphone Jacks were stuck in the ground, motioned to the group. “I don’t hear any heartbeats besides ours, so there’s nothing but robots in there. How are we gonna do this?”

“Well, if they’re robots, I should be able to fry them all with my Quirk!” Kaminari proclaimed, jabbing a thumb at himself proudly.

“Bad idea. This is I-Island; you  _ really _ think they’re gonna let their security drones have such an obvious weakness?” Izuku asked. Kaminari wilted. 

“I say we just go in there and blow ‘em up!” Katsuki roared, slamming a fist into his palm.

“Bakugou-kun, we are trying to  _ avoid _ conflict,” Iida said flatly.

“At this point, it doesn’t matter anymore. The Villains know we’re here, so even if we manage to make to the top floor unseen by anymore security cameras, we’ll still have to fight them up there. Plus, things just go so much quicker with a frontal attack,” Izuku said.

“We shouldn’t be careless, though,” Momo said. “I can make canisters of metallic dust; it should be able to distort the magnetic fields around the robots, interfering with their communications. At the very least, they won’t be able to report back to the main system about where we’re going.” True to word, she began popping out red cylinders from both her hands, creating a small pile. Everyone grabbed a few, then Izuku pried open the doors with his kagune. As soon as they were able, the students rushed in, tossing the canisters with reckless abandon. Within moments, the room was covered in a silver dust cloud.

Izuku leaped over the robots, then spun around. His kagune, which had taken on the sharp edges of a blade, sliced through the drones with ease, leaving sparking metal scattered all over the place. From the front of the group, Katsuki was blasting them over the edge of the railing, Iida and Kirishima smashing them to piece, and Todoroki freezing the occasional one. Within moments, the drone army was dismantled, and the teens continued on their way.

* * *

 

Floor one-thirty-eight was a server room. The door they were approaching opened long before they were nearby, and out came a river of drones; much more than before. Izuku and Katsuki stepped to the front of the group, ready to take down these new opponents, when Melissa suddenly cried out.

“Wait! We can’t fight here! If these servers are damaged, then the security system will be affected!

More robots hopped down from the upper floor, joining their brethren in a massive united front.

“Bakugou-kun, Todoroki-kun, you two shouldn’t use your Quirks- they’re too destructive! Midoriya-kun, Kirishima-kun, and I will take care of this!”

Katsuki looked ready to pummel the glasses-wearing teen, but settled for clicking his tongue. He took a step back, alongside Todoroki. Izuku and Iida sprinted forward, leaving Kirishima lagging behind. Like before, Izuku jumped over the mass, using crimson swords to slice through the swathes of red robots. Occasionally, a drone would go flying over his head after being kicked by Iida. Since the area near the exit door was clear of any expensive machinery, Iida pointed all his attacks in that direction. Kirishima used the sharp edges of Hardening to punch holes through the security bots.

In the back, Momo Created an entire  _ cannon _ , fueling it with gooballs, while Jiro fired. Kaminari hung back, wisely avoiding using his Quirk, since it might wreak havoc on the equipment. Mineta stood next to him, littering the floor between the drones and them with sticky balls. Todoroki and Katsuki just didn’t do anything, thankfully. They were joined by Uraraka and Setsuna.

As time passed, Izuku got more and more reckless, making larger sweeps with his organic blades, getting dangerously close to slashing the servers. However, this tactic served to thin the crowds very effectively, and eventually, the last of the drones was punted like a football by Iida. The ground was littered in enough metal pieces that Izuku could probably swim through them.

“Alright, let’s continue!” Iida shouted, picking his way through the massacre to the door the drones came from.

* * *

 

“Turbines?” Izuku asked. Melissa had directed them to a door which lead them outside, on top of one of the satellite buildings which surrounded the tower.

“It’s the wind power generator system. The security drones will probably keep attacking us if we go through the main tower. We can get to the top all at once, if we can get to that emergency exit.” She pointed, and many of the students gasped at how high said door was.

“All the way up there!?” Mineta cried.

“I can use my Quirk to make an elevator, of sorts,” Todoroki offered, and everyone nodded. They gathered around, and the heterochromatic boy stomped the ground. It took a few seconds, but they began to slowly lift off the ground. Halfway up, Izuku looked down, and saw that the rooftop they were on moments ago had disappeared under a carpet of security bots. He breathed a small sigh of relief.

_ If we were just a minute slower, this could’ve gotten  _ real _ ugly. _

* * *

 

“Papa!” Melissa hissed. In the control room, through the wide-open vault door, they saw Professor David Shield typing away at the main terminal, his assistant Sam standing a few feet away.

“Shit,” Izuku muttered. “They must’ve forced him to come up here. He’s one of the island’s main researchers, right? That’s probably why they’re here; to steal his tech!”

“We’ve gotta go save him!” Kirishima whispered loudly, raising a fist in the air. The group unanimously agreed, and crept closer to the door, continuously scanning the halls for any sign of approaching Villains. When they got close enough, they could hear Professor Shield’s voice.

“I was able to unlock it- go to block 1147!” he told Sam, who complied. The portly man ran out of sight, though they heard his success.

“You did it, Professor! Everything is here!”

David, for some reason, smiled widely. “Yes… I’ve finally gotten it back. This device and this research, the only things I would  _ never _ give to  _ anyone _ … I’ll never give it up!”

“Everything’s going according to plan,” Sam said, surprising the group. “It looks like the Villains are doing well, too.” Melissa reeled back in shock, colliding with Izuku’s chest. Her legs went weak, and the white-haired teen had to grab her before she could completely collapse, and likely give away their position.

“W-why would they care about how the Villains are doing?” she asked breathlessly.

“Thank you. It was all because you arranged everything for me, Sam.”

Izuku had to tighten his grip on Melissa, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Relax,” he whispered into her ear, “There’s probably a good reason for this. Your dad’s been friends with All Might for years; I doubt someone like that, with a life like this, would turn to crime. Let’s just watch how this plays out.”

After an unsure moment, Melissa nodded slowly, and Izuku released her face. He kept his arms around her, though, just in case she got jumpy. He studiously ignored the way she leaned back into his chest.

“I can’t believe those sponsors,” David groused. They couldn’t see him from their position outside the room, but they could hear his irritation. “Confiscating my research like that- and for what? Because they were  _ scared? _ ”

“W-well, something of this magnitude could change the entire structure of society, Professor,” Sam placated, “The ability to mechanically enhance Quirks, without the negative side-effects on the body caused by drugs, is a big deal. They probably didn’t want to see it fall into the wrong hands... Like yours, Professor.”

“S-sam!?”

A gunshot rang through the room, and David rolled down the steps, back into view of the horrified students. The right shoulder of his suit was covered in blood, the stain quickly spreading across the fabric.

“I wish I didn’t have to do this, Professor,” Sam said remorsefully. “But when you allowed your research to be frozen so easily, allowed all the  _ honor _ and  _ renown  _ we were supposed to get be thrown away… I simply couldn’t stand for it. I  _ had  _ to get my money, or this whole thing would have been a waste of my time!”

Izuku growled, and released Melissa. He made to step forward, when a voice from behind stopped him cold.

“Sam, you have some eavesdroppers.”

* * *

 


	24. Chapter 24

Izuku only had time to turn around before he and the rest of the teens were wrapped in ropes of steel and flung to the far side of the room, where they were pinned to the wall.

_ A Quirk that lets him manipulate metal!? _

Experimentally, Izuku tugged at a rail keeping his wrist in place. It didn’t provide much resistance, and Izuku knew he could rip it off at any time. However, he wanted to see what happened. Professor Shield was still lying on the floor, in a pool of his own blood. Sam was staring at them in shock, a metal briefcase in his hand. The only other person in the room, and therefore the man who’d trapped them, was who Izuku assumed to be the leader of the Villains. He wore a white trench coat over his black combat suit, and a metal mask on his face, revealing only his eyes. His smirking mouth could be seen through tinted glass. His hair was a deep shade of red, flowing down his neck, two strands sticking up into the air and curling slightly.

“You have to be more careful, Sam- imagine if I hadn’t been here to capture them?” he scolded. “Now, where’s the device?”

“I-it’s here!” Sam cried, rushing down the steps. He handed the metal case to the Villain, who weighed it, then nodded in satisfaction.

“Thanks a bunch- you’ve saved me a lot of trouble. Here’s your reward.” He raised the pistol in his hand, and shot Sam in the shoulder, an ironic parallel of when Sam shot David.

“T-this isn’t what you promised, Wolfram!” Sam shouted, grasping his bleeding arm. The Villain, now identified as Wolfram, chuckled darkly.

“Promise? I don’t remember making any type of promise. Although, if you want more, I’ll be happy to provide.” With a toothy grin, Wolfram raised his gun further, and shot Sam in the head. The portly man’s corpse fell to the ground without so much as a whisper, brain matter and blood pouring from the hole between his eyes.

Wolfram outright laughed at the screams from the children. “Remember kids; don’t make shady deals with strangers!” He stowed away his gun and pulled a phone from his pocket, raising it to his ears. “Bring the helicopter to the roof; I’ve got the device.” Wolfram glanced at the kids, then stared at David, lying on the ground, for a long moment. With a grin, the Villain raised his hands, sparking with blue light. The metal rails circling the room obeyed his command, and wrapped around the downed scientist- painfully, if his groans were anything to go by. With David floating in tow, Wolfram turned to walk out the room.

At that moment, Izuku ripped apart his restraints, and used the wall he was trapped against to boost himself at the Villain. Unfortunately, Wolfram’s reflexes were quick enough that he was able to turn around, and a pillar of steel smashed into Izuku, followed by another, and another, until he was being pushed against the wall with so much force he couldn’t even move. His arms were crossed in front of his face, but it was taking all his strength just to avoid being crushed. He heard the shouts of his classmates, but couldn’t decipher them through the thick walls of metal. He could vaguely hear Wolfram laughing, but then the room went silent.

Taking in a rattling breath, Izuku forced his kagune to manifest, ignoring the way they tore gouges out of his skin as he maneuvered them in front of him. It took an indeterminate amount of time, and many blows of increasing strength, but slowly, Izuku managed to push his way out of his makeshift cage. He fell to the floor, panting from exertion, and covered in blood. Luckily, his skin healed, so there was nothing to worry about. Shooting to his feet, he noticed that Iida and Kirishima had gotten free, and were working on the rest of the teens. He went over to help them.

“Yo, Midoriya, you okay!? That dude got you pretty good!” Kirishima said, yanking the restraints off Katsuki.

“Indeed, Midoriya-kun, it seemed like you were hit fairly hard,” Iida agreed.

“I’ve had worse,” Izuku muttered. Using his kagune made the process so much faster, and soon, the entire group was free. Melissa was sobbing, babbling incoherently. Izuku grabbed the blonde by her shoulders, and shook her as hard as he could without injuring her.

“Snap out of it!” he ordered. “Your father’s in danger, and you crying is  _ not _ going to do anything! We need you to reset the security system so that the Heroes can come help! You’re the only one that can.”

Melissa swallowed heavily, then nodded resolutely. Izuku was relieved to see a fire burning in her eyes.

“R-right!” she cried, wiping away the last bit of her tears.

“Good. I’m going after Wolfram- you guys catch up when you can,” he told the U.A students. With that, he turned on his heel and sprinted out the room, following the blood trail.

* * *

 

Izuku burst through the doors at the top of the stairs, and was immediately buffeted by powerful gales. They didn’t do more than ruffle his clothes, however, so he ignored the wind and zeroed in on Wolfram. The Villains back was turned, and he seemed to be dropping Professor Shield on the floor of a camo-colored helicopter. Unfortunately, David chose that moment to look up, and surprise was written all over his face. Wolfram, noticing the sudden change in expression, followed the professor’s eyes, to see the white-haired teen mere meters away.

With a hand gesture, a wall of steel rose from the ground. Izuku collided with it, and was pushed back by protruding metal staffs. He flew across the roof, tumbling to a stop near the entrance.

“Oh ho? What’s this? One of the kiddies wants to play?” Wolfram asked patronizingly, yelling to be heard over the chopper rotors. Izuku leapt to his feet, and was about to explode into action once more when the Villain pointed his gun at David’s face. “Take one more step, and I put a bullet in his head.”

When Izuku stiffened, but remained still, Wolfram smiled viciously.

“Man, it sure is rough, being a Hero. I didn’t even do all that much, yet you’re unable to move. It’s not a very smart way to live, you know.” Waving a glowing hand once more, Izuku was hit from opposite sides by two steel pillars. He was only barely able to keep them from crushing him like a grape, exerting all his strength. Through his darkening-vision, Izuku could only watch as Wolfram climbed into the chopper, which lifted into the sky right quickly.

_ This bastard… _

With a muted groan of pain, Izuku pushed as hard as he could. Then, when the pillars were as far apart as he could push them, he tossed himself out of the way, only narrowly avoiding the collision when they snapped back together. He rolled to his feet, staggered, and broke into a run. When he was nearing the edge of the roof, he jumped with as much force as he could muster, using his kagune to propel him further. As it had only just ascended, the helicopter was  _ just _ close enough that his leap allowing him to wrap a hand around one of the landing skids. His forceful boarding caused the lightweight aircraft to tilt dangerously to the side. With reckless abandon, he wildly began tearing the machine apart. A spiderleg impaled the fuel tank, a mass of hardened RC cells jammed the rotor blades, and a tentacle stabbed straight up into the cockpit. It came out with blood, and Izuku assumed he’d injured the pilot somehow. Then, he grabbed the professor, wrapping him in a cocoon of crimson.

Izuku began swinging back and forth on the skid, causing the vehicle to sway, nearly flipping over at one point. When the bottom of the chopper was no longer pointed at the ground directly below, but in the general direction of the tower, Izuku pressed his feet against the metal, and pushed. The aluminum dented, and the craft went careening in the opposite direction, while Izuku began the long fall back to the roof.

It took a few seconds, but Izuku eventually crashed back down, creating a fairly large crater in the helipad. Thankfully, since he was wrapped in a bundle of fluid tentacles, the professor was merely startled by the impact. Crawling out of the indentation, Izuku carefully released the man, setting him on his back to lie down.

“You alright, Professor?” Izuku asked, staring at the massive crimson stain covering the vast majority of his suit jacket.

“You… You’re…”

“Yeah, I guess not,” Izuku muttered wryly, forcing the man into a sitting position. He slipped off the remains of his suit jacket, tearing a sleeve to wrap around David’s shoulder. With a tight knot, he patted the man on the back. “Sorry, I don’t really know all the much about first aid, so this’ll have to do.”

“N-no… Thank you…”

“Papa!”

Izuku and David looked up to see Melissa running over, a huge grin on her face, and tears running down her cheeks.

“Papa!” she cried once more, launching herself at her father, heedless of his injury. Izuku climbed to his feet with a smile, and decided to give them some space. He turned to examine the area, and saw the rest of the teens near the rooftop entrance. They were cheering at the heartfelt reunion, and waved wildly at him. He waved back, and went to walk over to them, when a voice interrupted him.

“You piece of shit… You think you can defeat  _ ME!?” _

Izuku whirled around, and was greeted with the sight of Wolfram rising above the roof, carried by a metal abomination. Two thick, heavy arms at the front raised it into the air for dozens of meters, while a tail made of braided cords swung agitatedly in the back. It had broad shoulders to match the massive arms, and a back lined with long, deadly spikes. Wolfram stood at the top of this beast, this  _ Leviathan _ . His white trench coat was tattered, his mask destroyed, leaving only the glass covering his mouth. 

More metal encircled Wolfram, forming an egg-shaped head, with spikes at the top and back. The most distinctive feature of his creation was by far the eyes; they were two huge pools of glowing blue plasma, the same color as the illuminated veins which ran down the monster’s shining body.

The Leviathan raised a heavy arm, and took a step forward. That simple act shook the roof of the tower, cratering it meters away from the impact. Behind Izuku, a few of his classmates fell to their knees, feet unsteady from the violent tremors. Most of them screamed.

Izuku kept his cool. He wrapped his kagune around Professor Shield, scooping up Melissa in his arms, and carried them to the doorway. He set them down next to the other students.

“Get downstairs!” he yelled at them, struggling to be heard over the raging beast less than a hundred meters. He shoved a few people, hoping to spur them into action, then spun on his heel and bolted towards Wolfram.

From the Leviathan’s shoulders, two holes opened up, and out shot chunks of metal, moving at incredibly speeds. Using his kagune, Izuku was able to push himself out of the way of the barrage, occasionally cutting apart a cannonball with crimson blades if it got too close for comfort. The barrage stopped suddenly, and Izuku heaved a tiny sigh of relief, but yelped in shock when the Leviathan fluidly morphed into a metal snake, the head of which bore down on him with hell in its eyes. He was barely able to avoid the bullet train which nearly flattened him, but unfortunately was still within range of the spikes protruding randomly from the sides of the beast.

One such spike slammed into his side, shattering his ribcage with the sheer speed, making him spin out of control. He landed on his back, and was able to make it onto his feet just in time for the Leviathan to transform back into its original form. However, this time, it had two relatively-small hind legs (they were still taller than his house) which it supported itself on, while it raised its beefy arms into the air high above him, its intent clear.

With rising panic, Izuku only had time to cross his arms and kagune over the top of his head, and brace for impact. He waited for ten seconds, but when he wasn’t flattened, he chanced a glance up; the abomination’s arms were frozen in midair, suspended in an iceberg. Snapping his head around, he locked gazes with Todoroki’s blue and gray eyes. They burned with determination; the resolve to see this to the bitter end.

Izuku nodded at the heterochromatic teen, and turned back to Wolfram. Using his spiderlegs, he was able to rapidly scale the glacier while the beast was distracted with attempting to break out. At the apex of his climb, Izuku bounced at the Leviathan’s head. His kagune bit into the monster’s head, digging deep. The teen heard a roar of pain, and pressed on.

He didn’t expect the shoulder cannons to activate, blasting him with two heavy projectiles at point-blank range. He was blown back, slamming into the floor, which he gouged a trench in for several meters. Izuku simply lay in his crater for a moment, waiting for his shattered skeleton to knit itself back together. Struggling to prop himself up on his elbows, the white-haired teen took stock of the situation. Katsuki and Todoroki were keeping Wolfram occupied, blasting at his creation’s head with Explosions, fire, and ice. Running around his legs were Kirishima and Iida, battering at the metal as much as possible to try and throw the Leviathan off balance.

Hanging back was the rest of the group. Momo had Created another cannon, with Jiro once more loading it up with gooey cannonballs. However, the girl was on her knees, panting. It seemed that such intensive use of her Quirk had left her exhausted. Setsuna, Uraraka, Kaminari, and Mineta stood behind them, watching the havoc ensue. Further behind them, Professor Shield and Melissa were looking straight at them, and seemed horrified when he spat up blood.

Swiping his remaining sleeve against his mouth, Izuku forced himself to his feet. He nearly fell back down from the pain that reverberated through his cracked bones, but remained standing.

_ My regeneration’s slowing down… I’m running out of RC cells. _

He stood still for a few seconds, then launched himself back into the fight. He joined Iida and Kirishima, forming all eight of his kagune into a massive blade, which he swept through the metal pillar. It lost momentum halfway to the other side, so Izuku pulled back, and swung from the opposite direction. This time, his crimson blade completed its path, meeting with the first deep gouge, and cutting through the steel. Iida kicked the separated portion out from underneath the beast, so that it tilted drastically to the side, trying to find stable ground with its amputated arm.

Todoroki’s fire was creating a nearly-unbearable amount of heat, turning the head of the Leviathan red hot. Katsuki’s Explosions were denting the malleable metal with ease, making it resemble a crumpled tin can more than anything. One of the massive lenses had lost its electric glare.

Climbing the damaged leg, Izuku once more aimed for Wolfram behind his metal shield. This time, however, rather than striking with multiple spears, Izuku manipulated his kagune to meld into a single, large sword. Roaring in exertion, he brought the blade down on the center of the Leviathan’s head, cutting deeply. Blood spurted through the gash, and Izuku smiled savagely. He drew back, intent on striking once more, when the metal forming the Leviathan burst outwards, slamming into everybody nearby and blasting them back.

Wolfram was finally visible again, clutching the deep, bloody wound on his shoulder, which had nearly separated his left arm from his body.

“You…” he growled, glaring at Izuku with murder in his eyes. “You fucker- you think this is enough to stop me!?” he yelled. He dropped the metal briefcase, which until now had been clutched in his limp left hand. With a flex of his Quirk, the case popped open, and Wolfram levitated the device up to him on a steel platform. Wincing, he grabbed the thing with both hands, wrapping it around the back of his head, attaching numerous electrodes to his face. They glowed neon blue, the same color as the Villain’s Quirk.

With a feral grin, Wolfram spread his arms wide. “Yes,  _ YES! _ I can  _ feel _ my Quirk being rejuvenated!” His voice was now distorted, deepening to demonic levels. “ _ This  _ is the power of David Shield’s device…  _ I’LL USE IT TO KILL YOU ALL!” _

The rooftop broke apart, braided cables leaping to the Villain’s command, metal plates flying up to obey his orders. The pieces all came together, forming a mountain of intertwined steel, with Wolfram standing imperiously at the top, his sclera blacker than the night, pupils glowing an ominous purple. He raised an arm, and tons of metal rose into the air, compressinging into multiple battering rams, ready to be aimed at the Heroes-in-training.

“Have no fear! Why? Because  _ I _ am here!”

Shocked, everyone turned to look at the figure of All Might, who was in the air behind the students. It almost looked as if he’d  _ jumped _ to the top of the tower. The hulking man, clad in red, white, and blue, jabbed a thumb at himself, grinning his signature smile. For the exhausted students, he looked like a beacon of hope.

“I’ll have you leave my precious students alone, Villain!” he shouted, curling into a ball. Thrusting his limbs backwards, All Might flew chest first at Wolfram, a fist pulled back, ready to blast the madman into the atmosphere. Nobody was expecting the wires which leaped to stop the Number One Hero. Nobody expected it to actually  _ work. _

All Might, to the surprise of everyone present, was suspended in front of the Villain, tugging futilely against his restraints. Wolfram smiled viciously, reaching out to wrap a hand around All Might’s neck. His arm suddenly bulked up, skin turning a luminescent purple.

“M-multiple Quirks!?” All Might rasped, struggling to choke out his words around the powerful grip on this throat. “D-don’t tell me…!?”

“Yeah,” Wolfram said, amused, squeezing tighter. “When we were planning this heist, I received a call from  _ that person _ , with an offer to work together. You wanna know what I was told?  _ If All Might’s friend has said he wants to have a hand in something evil, then I  _ definitely _ want to help. It’s disappointing that I won’t be able to see the look on his face when he realizes, though!” _

“A… A-All For One…!”

All Might’s strained words echoed across the silent rooftop. Izuku couldn’t suppress the shiver than ran up his spine.

Wolfram laughed. “So, you’ve finally stopped smiling, huh!? Good,  _ good! _ Even better will be the reaction of the world when the Number One Hero is killed!” A pillar shot out from the mass carrying Wolfram, slamming into All Might’s chest, and pushing him far back, to the point where he was stretching the wires still wrapped around his limbs.

Two gargantuan, misshapen cubes of steel slammed into All Might from both sides, colliding with enough force that they bent around the man’s frame. These two were followed by more,  _ dozens _ of similar cubes, each of which shook the air upon impact.

“ _ FAREWELL, ALL MIGHT!” _

Spikes of steel rose from the ground, shooting towards All Might’s prison, and impaling it from all sides. Silence reigned across the rooftop, only disturbed by Wolfram’s laughter. Then, a moment later, it was completely shattered by Izuku’s roar of rage.

The edges of his vision darkened, and the moonlit shadows began to separate from the ground. Tenebrous arachnids scuttled madly across the floor, bumping into any obstacle without rhyme or reason, only to turn around and frantically repeat the process. His back tore open, his kakuhou absolutely emptying themselves of RC cells as his eight kagune were inflated. Each tentacle was now as thick as the combined mass Izuku had been swinging around earlier.

His veins were close to bursting with adrenaline, and he leaped at the floating coffin with incredible power. In an instant, his vision was full of his teacher’s prison. A beastly growl ripped from his throat, and he lashed out, kagune slicing through the compacted steel like it wasn’t even there. With eight simultaneous strikes, the mass fell apart.

Izuku landed in the rubble, right next to the panting, kneeling form of All Might. The blond stared up at him, blood dripping down his chin.

“Midoriya-shounen…”

“You can’t handle this alone, Sensei. I won’t run, even if it looks impossible.”

All Might smiled his bright, blinding grin, laughing boisterously. “Spoken like a true Hero! Very well, then,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “Lend me a hand, Kaibutsu-kun!”

“Yeah!”

They were off, Izuku somehow managing to keep up with All Might’s breakneck pace. He knew he would pay for it later, but at the moment, he had bigger things to worry about. Wolfram was attacking wildly, using his empowered Quirk to continuously attempt heavy strikes. His go-to pillars were flying at incredible speeds. Izuku dodged most of them with a combination of aerial maneuvering and sheer legwork, but he just as often had to cut through the steel barriers. For each one destroyed, five more appeared, bending through the air with the flexibility of a serpent. The teen knew, if he were hit with a single attack, he would be overwhelmed in an instant.

Leap to the side, burst forward, jump over a pillar, use his kagune to yank him out of the path of another, cut a few to shreds, and repeat. Izuku let his instincts take over, crimson blades swinging at everything that was shiny and moved. Close calls were a dime a dozen. His skin was constantly being ripped apart from the slightest of scrapes with the fast-moving pillars.. His shirt was in tatters, the pieces falling off until he was left bare-chested, the scar from his time as an organ farm on full display.

Explosions rocked the battlefield. Massive combustions broke through many of Wolfram’s attacks, while glaciers froze the others. Clouds of smoke and ash hovered in the air, obscuring the starry night. The rapid fluctuations in temperature created hurricane-force gales, which clashed and swirled, threatening to form a localized natural disaster, birthed by unnatural means.

Throughout the chaos, Izuku and All Might continued forward, pushing their bodies beyond their limits, ignoring the pain, ignoring the blood filling his mouth, ignoring the bones that creaked with every move, the sharp pains of his half-destroyed respiratory system, the hallucinations attempting to shatter his mind. All that mattered, in this point in time, was the Villain raising his arms to the sky, as if praising the deities who ruled over the domain of chaos, calling upon their divine power to destroy the Heroes standing in his way.

Landing next to each other on an inert steel ramp- one of the Villain’s failed attacks- student and teacher ran side-by-side, blitzing forth at barely-visible speeds. The only thing most of those present could see were flashes of yellow hair and blood-red appendages. Meanwhile, in the air above the tower, a perfect cube of epic proportions was being formed.

“ _ I’LL CRUSH YOU AND THE TOWER!” _

Throwing his hands forth, Wolfram commanded his immense creation to fall towards the earth, pushed along by his upgraded Quirk and gravity.

_ “Detroit… SMASH!” _

All Might slammed into the monstrosity, his fist cratering the cube on impact. With a powerful heave, fissures spread throughout the box, widening faster and faster. The sleeve of All Might’s near-indestructible Hero suit ripped from the amount of energy being channeled through it. With a shout, All Might pushed his fist forward even more, and Wolfram’s final attack shattered, releasing a shockwave that rocked the atmosphere.

Izuku, following closely behind the Number One Hero, landed on All Might’s back. He used the man’s broad shoulders as a platform, launching himself even faster at Wolfram, who was slumped in fatigue from the mental backlash of being overpowered so thoroughly. With a sonic boom trailing behind him, Izuku buried a fist in the Villain’s gut. The bones in his arm turned to dust.

Wolfram, for a moment, felt the cold embrace of death. Then, he passed into unconsciousness, his brain shutting down so completely that even his subconscious momentarily ceased activity. The device wrapped around his head sparked, the blue lights popping with tiny sparks. It slipped off the slumped man’s skull. With Wolfram defeated, his control over the metal behemoth vanished, and it fell apart with a massive rumble.

Izuku, exhausted, fell into the shifting mountain of steel below, and was buried alive.

* * *

 

“Izuku-kun!”

The teen shakily rose to his feet, fully extricating himself out of the rubble he’d woken up underneath after blacking out for a short while. Turning to the voice, he was slightly surprised to see Melissa running towards him, her bare feet carefully picking their way across the ruined rooftop. Behind her was Setsuna, who was being even more cautious due the heels still on her feet.

Izuku was dazed, both from pain and tiredness, and was decidedly  _ not _ prepared for both girls to throw themselves at him, colliding with his heaving chest. He fell back, landing heavily on his ass. His back kept going until it slammed into a slanted metal plate, leaving him coughing and hissing. He slumped against the impromptu support, gasping loudly.

“Izuku!” Setsuna cried, waving her hands in a wild panic. Melissa had tears in her eyes. Izuku coughed a few times, spat a mouthful of blood to the side, and held a palm out to the girls. He pushed himself up slightly, but remained seated and reclined.

“I...I’m alright,” he rasped, finally managing to get his lungs under control. The girls dropped to their knees on either side of him. They definitely weren’t convinced.

“You are  _ not _ okay!” Melissa scolded, though her anger was offset by her tears. She leaned forward, burying her face into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. “I thought… When you  _ fell _ like that…!” She lost the ability to speak, succumbing to the sobs that wracked her frame. Confused, Izuku wrapped an arm around the blonde. He peered at Setsuna for an explanation, only to find that the lizard girl was also not happy with him.

“Idiot!” she shouted, punching him in the arm, then immediately rubbing at her fist. “Who told you to jump in like that!? All Might had things under control!”

Izuku shook his head, smiling softly. His heart was rather warmed by her concern. “No, he really didn’t. He was running on fumes. Maybe you didn’t see it, since you were so far away, but he was pushing it really far during that whole thing. He’ll probably be a bit tired for the next few days.”

“And!? What about  _ you!? _ You aren’t as strong as All Might!”

Izuku didn’t know what to say, so he just pulled Setsuna to him with his other arm, rubbing her back as she broke down into tears. He sat there for a while, silently consoling the two crying girls, watching the sun rise over the horizon.

Clapping broke Izuku from his thoughts. He glanced over, and stiffened in terror. Standing only ten meters away was a man he hadn’t seen in a long time. Short white hair, crimson pupils, a scarlet iron mask covering the lower half of his face, and clad in a large white cloak, this man walked towards the trio, slapping his cloth-covered hands together at a steady interval.

“You’ve truly grown, Izuku-san. That display just now was amazing, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“Tatara…” Izuku growled, unconsciously tightening his grip on Melissa and Setsuna. The girls stopped their sniffling, looking at the newcomer in confusion. The man continued walking closer, and Izuku shot to his feet, being careful to not topple the girls. His body protested, every muscle straining, but he ignored it, taking a step forward. Tatara chuckled.

“You may relax, Izuku-san. I have not come to fight. Rather, I’ve simply come to pick something up.”

Izuku glanced around wildly, until his eyes landed on Professor Shield’s destroyed device. Though it was crackling, Izuku knew that a well-equipped team of researchers could likely reverse-engineer the item. In the hands of the people Tatara _ associated _ with, such an event would ensure cataclysmic results.

“Please, sit back down, Izuku-san. I’d rather not have to kill you today; Leader-sama made it very clear I was only to retrieve the device, and nothing more.”

Izuku growled, beyond words. Activating his kagune while he was so unstable had unintended side-effects. Like before, the edges of his vision darkened, and spiders melted out of the shadows to scuttle about uncontrollably. Unfortunately, so focused was he on the imposing figure of Tatara, that he never noticed the phantom-arachnid lunge for his neck, sinking its venom-covered teeth deep into his jugular.

The world split into eight distorted fragments, and Izuku’s mind was lost.

* * *

 

**I don’t think anyone can do the final fight in Two Heroes justice with just written words. It was** **_amazing_ ** **. I loved that scene so much, I didn’t even mind watching it multiple times to get a better understanding for all the little bits and pieces. So, this is my shitty version.**

**In case anyone’s curious, the first stage of the Wolfram fight, with the Leviathan, was inspired by the final boss fight against Brooke Augustine in InFamous: Second Son.**

**K bai :D**


	25. Chapter 25

Tatara didn’t even flinch when Izuku rushed him with a beastly howl. He knew the boy would never reach him. He was only proven right by the scarlet spikes that flew in out of nowhere, burying themselves into the boy’s neck and chest, throwing him off his trajectory. The teen rolled on his side with a cry of pain. He recovered admirably, however, ripping the projectiles from his body and tossing them aside carelessly.

“You’re late, Ayato,” Tatara scolded, though without much heat. Truthfully, he was rather glad he’d been able to bear witness to the extent of the teen’s progress. A red mass of flesh covered the top of Izuku’s face, pulsing in sync with his accelerated heartbeat. Eight functioning eyes protruded from the solidified RC cells, looking remarkably like four pairs of kakugan. The only difference was that six spun madly in their artificial sockets, in ways no normal eye could move. The teen seemed incredibly disoriented by the new input, if his drunken stumbling was any indication. Then again, it could just as easily could have been due to exhaustion. Still, he managed to leap somewhat accurately in the direction of the newcomer.

Said intruder scoffed at Tatara, dodging wild swings with pitiful ease. “Whatever. I got caught up with some shitty Heroes- talkin’ bout how _nobody’s_ _allowed up in this part of the tower_. Annoying fuckers. Speaking of annoying fuckers- this kid! I lost _ten million yen_ because of him! Like, what the _fuck!?_ ” Emphasizing his anger, Ayato whipped around with a spinning kick, pulverizing the teen’s jaw. Setsuna and Melissa screamed, horrified by Izuku’s body flopping down in front of them, further pissing off the blue-haired man.

“Shut the fuck up!” he yelled, whipping his winged kagune at them, shooting a series of RC cells in the form of razor-sharp crystals. Izuku chose that moment to leap back to his feet, and was impaled nearly a dozen times. Some of the shards even poked through his back, despite colliding with his chest, further terrifying the two girls. Izuku, however, merely grunted in pain. He didn’t even pull out the blades this time, instead putting all of his attention on Ayato.

“Ho? How so?” Tatara asked, scanning the roof idly. The other teenagers were watching in fear as their strongest was easily manhandled. Even All Might was frozen, though that may have had something to do with the geysers of steam erupting from his skin. The man definitely looked like he wanted to jump in and aid his student; if he gritted his teeth any harder, they would likely disintegrate. An animalistic shriek called his gaze back to the fight. Izuku was making use of his eight spider legs in a desperate attempt to reach Ayato.

“I sold this fucker to Kanou- you know, that creepy-ass old man? Anyways, we made a deal; I get him the kid, he gives me ten million. A week later, kid kills Kanou, and now I got nothin’! It’s such  _ bullshit! _ ”

“What, exactly, did Kanou-san want with Izuku-san?”

“Guy said something about using him as an organ farm? Called it  _ putting his regeneration to good use _ . I don’t know. I think he just said that to cover up how he’s a pedophile. The way he went  _ on _ and  _ on  _ about the brat made me feel…  _ Unclean _ . You know?”

“I suppose I can understand where you are coming from. Kanou-san always did have a certain…  _ Affinity _ , for those of a younger age.”

“So basically, he’s a pedo.”

“Most likely. An organ farm… That would certainly explain the scar on Izuku-san’s chest, as well as the hair.”

“Hair? The fuck?”

“Something called Marie-Antoinette Syndrome. It occurs when a person experiences extensive trauma, turning their hair white from stress. Given what I know of Izuku-san, I do not believe he would use hair dye. As such, that is the most logical explanation.”

Izuku did not seem to appreciate being talked about like he wasn’t there, because he suddenly changed focus from Ayato to Tatara, lashing out at the calm white-haired man. Tatara shook his head.

“Ayato, I believe I’ve indulged your unnecessary desires long enough. Finish this, and let us be on our way.”

“You and your  _ necessity _ bullshit are so obnoxious. Learn to live a little, you boring fucker!”

Tatara sighed, casually leaning out of the way of a flailing fist. “I fail to see how something like this is amusing. The boy has obviously gone insane, and is incapable of providing any form of entertainment. It is impressive that he has reached the beginning stages of a kakuja so young, but it is also apparent that he has no control.” Taking it upon himself to end this farce of a fight, he grabbed the white-haired teen by the top of his hair, slamming his face down onto a knee. Tatara grimaced slightly at the blood now staining his cloak; it was so difficult to wash the red out without turning the entire cloth pink. Good thing he could have someone do it for him, under the threat of death for failing.

Spinning a dazed Izuku around, Tatara kicked the back of his legs, forcing him to his knees. Reaching down with both hands, Tatara grasped Izuku’s chin and the back of his head. Then, with all the ease of breathing, twisted violently, snapping the boy’s neck like a twig.

The horrid noise reverberated across the rooftop, and more than one U.A student was ready to lean to the side and retch. They would have, too, if they weren’t staring at the completely limp form of their Class Representative, held up only by the red-eyed man.

Tatara released the still body. From under the edges of cloak, a crimson tail snaked out. It stabbed itself through Izuku’s chest, heedless of the fact that its diameter was about half that of the boy’s torso width. Almost contemptuously,  the pulsing appendage reared back, and chucked its burden over the edge of the tower.

Nobody so much as whimpered when the white-haired teen disappeared from sight faster than they could process.

* * *

 

“Ayato, retrieve the device,” Tatara ordered. Ayato scoffed, but did it anyways, tossing the thing at Tatara. The man caught it, then rolled back a sleeve, revealing a watch. Tapping a button, he waited a few moments. Suddenly, him and Ayato were surrounded by a black liquid. It curled over them, swirling and shrinking until nothing was left. The men were gone.

Then the screams started.

* * *

 

Katsuki absolutely could not believe his eyes. He knew that Izuku was powerful, that he was among the best of U.A. His best friend had gone toe-to-toe with  _ All Might _ during the Final Exam. There was an obvious discrepancy in terms of strength, but the white-haired teen was incredibly fast, with the reflexes to match.

Then, just now, he watched Izuku fight alongside All Might, and actually  _ keep up _ with the Number One Hero. While Katsuki was only able to distract and pester Wolfram, Izuku was there in the fray, and dealt the final blow. It was humbling, despite already knowing that he couldn’t match his friend. Not now, probably not ever (although that didn’t mean he was going to stop trying, dammit!).

Then, those two random fucks came out of nowhere, and handed his ass to him. That blue-haired fucker, Ayato, sounded like he was having  _ fun _ . He actually  _ complained _ when his fight got stopped. For just a second before leaving, he’d glanced around, and accidentally made eye contact with Katsuki. The blond would never admit it to everyone, under threat of death or cruel and unusual torture, but he’d nearly shit himself. That bastard was  _ cold _ . He just watched a teenager probably die, and he had the smallest, self-satisfied smile on his face, as if he’d gotten a rather thoughtful birthday present or something.

Somehow, the white-haired fuck, Tatara, was worse. His eyes reflected not even a hint of emotion. They were as still as the puddles of blood splattered across the rooftop, and definitely didn’t ripple when disturbed. He was probably the most apathetic fucker Katsuki had ever seen, even worse than Izuku in one of his moods. The only change Katsuki had seen on his face was when Izuku’s blood got on his pristine white cloak, and he  _ knew _ that was more because Tatara was worried about laundry.

Somehow, Izuku knew those fucks. He was surprised to see them, sure, but he’d known the white-haired one’s name. And if even  _ half _ of what the blue-haired one said was true, then they had a dark history. Just another piece in the puzzle that was Midoriya Izuku. It irked Katsuki that he kept uncovering new facts, but was nowhere near figuring out the information he already had access to. HIs friend was incredibly private.

He almost might be incredibly dead.

* * *

 

Toshinori couldn’t move, and it wasn’t just because his muscle form threatened to disperse. He’d likely just watched his student die, and there was absolutely  _ nothing _ he could do. The instant he tried to stand up, All Might would vanish, and a skeletal man would be left. Sure, in his true form, he was rather impressive… For people without Enhancement Quirks. To try and fight those newcomers in this state would be suicide

Despair was a powerful force. It could keep the mightiest Hero kneeling on the ground, groveling for mercy from whatever deity was watching at the moment. It locked the joints, stilled the tongue, froze the blood, stopped the heart. For all the despair Toshinori was drowning in right now, he knew it was worse for his students. They were  _ children _ , innocent of the reality of this world. Well, perhaps not completely, but Toshinori wouldn’t be surprised if death was a fairly foreign concept to them.

It was because of this that Toshinori stayed put. He knew, should he attempt to fight these Villains, his efforts would be in vain. He would be killed, his corpse tossed off the edge of tower like yesterday’s trash. Just like Midoriya-shounen.

These poor children had just seen it happen to their classmate, one who was generally well-liked- or, at the very least, well thought of. Toshinori would be damned if he were to make them see it happen to their sensei, the Symbol of Peace, the beacon of hope for this darkening world.

And so, he ignored every moral fiber in his body calling for revenge, for him to apprehend( **_kill_ ** )  these disgusting Villains, and hoped against hope that his student would miraculously survive.

* * *

 

Setsuna was blank- as blank as Izuku’s red eyes, moments before he was thrown over the edge. He’d been looking in her direction, forced to turn that way by the white-haired Villain. It didn’t seem to be intentional, since the man hadn’t even spared her or Melissa a glance. It was almost as if he was ignoring their existence. Then again, with power like  _ that _ , Tatara probably knew if someone was dangerous enough to pay attention to. Neither girl was.

Setsuna couldn’t cry. It had happened so fast, she wasn’t sure if she would ever completely register that moment when the light in Izuku’s main eyes was extinguished. The extra six, embedded in the pulsing red flesh, fractured like glass, but the two original eyes remained wide open. Setsuna was convinced they were staring at her. Not in accusation- there was nothing she could have done, whether she tried or not. Not with love, or any particular fondness. In fact, she wasn’t sure if Izuku even recognized her in that moment. There wasn’t much of anything in those eyes, aside from a mad glint, a hint of insanity, which was replaced by darkness a moment later; a moment that burned itself into her memory, to replay in her nightmares for the rest of her days.

The crack that echoed through the sky grabbed hold of her heart in a vice-grip, forcing it to contract painfully. Her nerves turned to stone. Her ears went deaf, eyes blind. All the energy in her lithe frame was stolen, along with her breath, and her mind darkened. She slumped to the ground, succumbing to shock. In a distant corner of her brain, Setsuna could hear a tiny voice.

_ It’s a good thing I got that kiss _ .

* * *

 

Momo was moments away from hysterics. Or perhaps she was already there; it was unlikely that a hysterical person would be able to tell. Her breath came rapidly, her heartbeat elevated to the point where she idly wondered if the organ would explode. She somewhat wished it would, just so she would never have to recall this scene. It was almost as bad as watching Midoriya-kun devour that Nomu, covered in thick, black sludge.

Then, it occurred to her that,  _ no _ , it was not as bad. This was a thousand times worse, at the minimum. Her fear of the white-haired teen back then paled in comparison to her fear  _ for _ his fate. That realization was startling, though the surprise was lost in her panicked thoughts, all of which focused on a common topic;  _ is he dead!? _

Deep down, in her subconscious, Momo knew the answer to that was,  _ of course _ . Nobody survives getting their neck snapped, and even if-  _ if!- _ they did, they definitely wouldn’t live through the two kilometer or so fall from the top of this tower. Logic dictated that Midoriya-kun was dead. There was no hope for him.

And yet, despite her rational thoughts, Momo found herself desperately wishing it wasn’t true. Though she may have acted like it, she didn’t  _ dislike _ Midoriya-kun. She merely feared him, after his display at the U.S.J. She had been getting better, too, but these things took time. TIme she apparently no longer had. And she’d only just recently been able to bring herself to meet his sparkling emerald eyes, if only for a moment.

Then, like she was struck by lightning, Momo realized these worries were completely inconsequential. After all, what was the point in fixing a relationship with a corpse?

The dam broke, and the tears started falling.

* * *

 


	26. Chapter 26

_...It’s dark. Really dark. _

Then, it wasn’t dark anymore, because now his eyes were open.

_ Okay, I take it back. Too bright- send me back to Tokoyami’s realm. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to put a fluorescent bulb  _ right _ over my face? They need to be shot, multiple times... Wait, why  _ is _ there a lightbulb over my head? _

Opening his eyes, slowly this time, Izuku managed to tilt his head so he wasn’t staring directly into the artificial sun. He saw a few blurry shapes surrounding him, moving agitatedly, and a lot of white. He rolled over in his unfamiliar bed, and rubbed at his eyes for a few moments. A yawn caused his jaw to crack, the noise reverberating in his inner ear. That seemed to be a catalyst of some sort, because sound suddenly came back to his world.

Izuku shot up into a sitting position, heart suddenly jackhammering in his chest. Like a flash of lightning, his jumbled memories sorted themselves out, and the teen was ready to fight. Unfortunately, there was nothing to fight at the moment, unless he counted his classmates currently surrounding his hospital bed. So, he simply sat there, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He clutched the fabric of his medical gown, just over his heart, as if that would somehow slow down his erratic pulse.

Izuku remained like that for a while, taking deep breaths, until someone jolted him from his daze by jostling his arm. Looking up from the white sheets, he met the worried obsidian eyes of Momo.

“Midoriya-kun?” she asked tentatively, “Are you alright?”

Izuku sighed deeply, considering the question. “...I guess? I feel… Really  _ heavy _ ,” he murmured.

“What, did ya gain a hundred kilos or something while ya slept for a week, ya lazy fuck?” That was Katsuki, who was surprisingly quiet until now.

“Bakugou-kun, that is  _ entirely _ inappropriate! Midoriya-kun was severely injured, and is likely feeling the aftereffects of his grievous wound!” Iida cried. A nervously laughing Kirishima latched onto Katsuki, preventing the raging blond from blowing Iida to hell and back.

“The  _ fuck _ did you just say to me, Four-Eyes!? I’ll fuckin’ murder ya!”

“Ah, come on, Bakugou, you know that’s just how he is!”

“Lemme go, Shitty Hair! I’m gonna beat the shit out of this shitty nerd!”

Izuku was heavily amused by their dumbassery, but something Katsuki said had him slightly concerned. He turned to Momo. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Four days. Although, according to the doctors, it should have been much longer. Someone with...  _ Injuries,  _ like yours, wouldn’t have survived. And if they did, they’d likely be paralyzed for life. If you had hit actually the ground…”

_ Hit the ground? _ “Wait, what happened?”

“You… You don’t remember?” Momo asked, looking horrified.

“Nah. I blacked out a bit after I saw Tatara- the white-haired guy. Did he hurt any of you guys?” he asked, addressing all the students in the room. They stopped their roughhousing, turning to the bedridden teen.

“Not at all, Midoriya-kun,” Iida answered. “The Villain said he was merely there to retrieve the device made by Professor Shield, which is what he did after he and his companion fought you.”

“Companion?”

“A blue-haired man. Tatara called him Ayato.”

Izuku froze, jaw slack and eyes wide. Then, he was in Iida’s face, bunching up the teen’s collar in shaking fists. “Are you fucking with me!?”

“Midoriya-kun, calm down!” Momo shouted, jumping up from her seat. “Iida-kun isn’t lying! We all heard him address that man as Ayato, right?” Katsuki and Kirishima nodded.

“What…?” Izuku muttered, unconsciously releasing his grip on his classmate. “Why the  _ hell _ …?”

Katsuki stepped up, seeing that nobody else was going to break the abrupt silence. “Who the hell cares  _ why _ that fucker was there!? I’m more worried about some of that shit he said- Izuku, what’s up with this guy talking ‘bout how he  _ sold you to an organ farm? _ ”

Izuku grimaced. “That asshole always did have a habit of running his mouth…”

“Wait, so it’s true!?” Kirishima shouted, his blood freezing. The others looked similarly sick. Izuku waved off their concern.

“It’s not a very child-friendly story. Don’t worry about it,” he said flippantly, scooting backwards to lean against the wall. This was, unfortunately, not one of those fancy reclining bed. Or maybe it was, and he just didn’t know. “Anyways, what happened?”

“ _ Don’t worry about it!?” _ Iida shouted, pale as moonlight. “How can we  _ not!? _ You were tortured!”

“I find myself wondering the same thing, Midoriya-shounen.” A mountain of muscle slid open the thin door. Izuku groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Hey, Sensei. How ya feelin’? Ya looked pretty messed up back then.”

All Might raised a powerful eyebrow. “Thank you for your concern, young man. I am quite well. A few hours of rest did wonders for these old bones!” He chuckled, but turned serious once more. It was odd for the students; they were used to the jovial side of the Number One Hero. This was…  _ New _ . “Now, back to what we were talking about. Is there anything you’d like to say?”

“Not particularly.”

Izuku and All Might stared at each for quite a while, before the man sighed, sitting down heavily in a too-small plastic chair. It creaked dangerously, and Izuku was quite amused by the thought of it breaking while All Might was in it.

“I’m afraid I can’t make you talk. Especially not about something that can be rightfully labelled a traumatic incident. I can only beseech you to talk to someone eventually. It doesn’t even have to be a therapist, or psychologist- your friends seem quite willing to lend you an ear.”

The assorted teens nodded vigorously, even Katsuki. Izuku rolled his eyes.

“Sure, whatever. I’ll keep that in mind,” he drawled, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. “Seriously, what the hell happened up there?”

All Might was the one to explain, from the fight to his being caught. Hado, the upperclassman he’d met a few days ago, happened to be on the ground under where he was falling. Using her Quirk, Wave Motion, Hado was able to slow him down with force applied in the opposite direction. As the Hero kept talking, Izuku got more and more annoyed. Finally, when All Might was done, the teen slumped back against the wall. He felt the odd urge to kick his feet like a toddler, but refrained. He settled for groaning his soul out.

“That’s so friggin’  _ lame… _ ”

“On the contrary, Midoriya-shounen. You were the only one to stand up to these Villains, despite the fact that you were just as exhausted as any of us. That takes courage- although, I would highly recommend  _ against  _ doing that in the future. You gave us quite the scare.”

Izuku noticed the solemn faces of his friends, and felt a pang of guilt. His shoulders drooped. “I’m not promising anything,” he murmured, “But I’ll try.”

“That is all I can ask.”

* * *

 

Everyone else had cleared out a while ago, but Momo remained, seated at the edge of his bed. There was so much to say, so much tension between them, but for now, they seemed content to sit in silence. Until Momo opened her mouth.

“Tokage-san will be glad to hear that you woke up. She’s been inconsolable, and hasn’t left her hotel room these last few days… I’m worried about her.”

Izuku started- he’d forgotten about Setsuna. “Do you have her number? I don’t have my phone, so I can’t call her.”

Momo nodded, pulling out her smartphone. A few taps later, the device was buzzing, waiting for the recipient to pick up. Momo handed it to Izuku, who put it on speaker phone.

“ _ What _ .” Izuku winced. The normally cheerful girl’s voice sounded so  _ dead _ .

“Guess who,” he replied, hoping that his lighthearted tone would help a bit. It did.

“ _ IZUKU!?” _ she shouted, causing the speaker to crackle. Izuku began cracking up.

“Who else, you stupid lizard? Hey, can you bring me a change of clothes? This hospital gown is kinda uncomfortable.”

The shriek of joy before the line went dead warmed his heart.

* * *

 

Izuku jumped when the door to his room slammed open, revealing a familiar green-hair girl. She dropped the plastic bag in her hand, and launched herself at him.

“ _ Izuku!” _ she cried, slamming into his chest. He laughed heartily, wrapping his arms around the sobbing girl.

“Hey, did ya miss me?” She nodded, which he felt more than saw. She clutched him like a lifeline for a long moment, until she let go, sniffling one last time. Then, she slapped him.

“Ow!” she yelped, cradling her red palm. “What the heck are you made of!?”

“That’s your own fault!” Izuku responded, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. “What were you trying to do anyways?”

“You scared me so much! I need to punish you!”

“Good luck with that!” he crowed, cackling when she punched him in the arm, only to rub at her knuckles a moment later. She growled at the white-haired teen. A moment later, her snarl morphed into a sly smile.

“Fine, since you’re so  _ smug _ , you can choose your punishment,” she purred, tossing a leg over his waist to straddle him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Oh, I can think of a few things…” he murmured, leaning down to meet her lips.

“ _ Ahem!” _ Izuku stopped in his path and looked at Momo, who was still sitting at the edge of the bed. Setsuna glared irately at the girl.

“Wait your turn!” she cried, grabbing Izuku’s face with her hands, and turning it back to her. She forced their lips together, and he eagerly reciprocated, allowing his shock to fade.

They remained like that for an indeterminate amount of time, until Momo cleared her throat again. When they pulled back- conveniently ignoring the strand of saliva still connecting them- Izuku was grinning wildly, and Setsuna looked just as dazed as the first time.

“I think you might need to be punished more…” she moaned, leaning forward to rest her head against his chest.

Izuku chuckled. “Later, later. What’s up, Momo?”

Said girl’s face was burning red, steam pouring out of her ears. “I think you should save that type of...  _ Behavior, _ for when you are  _ completely _ alone.” She was glaring at him, and Setsuna, who was still in his lap. He tilted his head, somewhat confused.

“Okay?”

“She’s just sad that she doesn’t get a kiss,” Setsuna muttered dreamily, still not quite back with reality.

“I- No, I most assuredly am  _ not! _ You-!” Izuku’s booming laugh cut her off, and her face erupted into a pure-crimson flush. She shot to her feet. “I do not!” she shouted, just for confirmation, then bolted out of the room, a vapor cloud trailing after her head.

“Ah. She ran away.”

Setsuna shook her head with an exasperated sigh. “You’re kinda an idiot, Izu-kun. You’re not supposed to laugh at a girl in that situation.”

“Well, what  _ am _ I supposed to do, then?”

“You offer her your body, obviously.”

“Oh, like this?”

Their lips collided once more, and it was a long time before they separated.

* * *

 

“I’m exhausted…” Izuku muttered. He’d just gotten back to the hotel room after a day of wandering around I-Expo with his rowdy classmates, and he still wasn’t back at full strength. It would probably be a while before he completely recovered, unfortunately. It didn’t help that he was pretty damned hungry, too.

Setsuna, shuffling behind him, grunted in agreement. The two didn’t even bother changing, just dropping into bed like stones. Then, Izuku noticed something a bit odd.

“...Setsuna?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you in  _ my _ bed?”

“Because.”

“Because?”

The girl went silent, and Izuku turned to face her. He sat up in shock when he saw the tears rolling down her face, painting dark spots on the white pillows.

“Setsuna!?” She broke down into heart-wrenching wails, and before he knew it, he had Setsuna in his arms, cradling the back of her head. She buried her face into his chest, though it barely muffled her sobs at all.

“I- I was so  _ scared! _ Your eyes…! When he…!” She reverted back to unintelligible sobs, and Izuku was left clueless.

“My eyes? What about my eyes?” he asked gently, doing his best to conceal his panic. Either he wasn’t entirely successful, or he’d asked the wrong question. Apparently, it was the latter.

“When he s-snapped your n-neck… Your eyes- they were just  _ blank! _ ”

“Well, yeah, I probably died for a few seconds or something,” Izuku muttered absentmindedly, then realized that was, quite possibly, the most retarded thing he could have ever said in a situation like this. Setsuna’s wails restarting just confirmed it.

“Ah, but it’s fine! I’m perfectly fine- well, maybe not perfectly, I am kinda tired, but I’m alive, you know!?” he belted out, surprised he hadn’t bitten his tongue off while rattling all that off. Izuku heaved a sigh of relief when Setsuna’s cries began to fade into sniffles, then a watery chuckle.

“Yeah, you are…” she murmured. “Can you…?” She trailed off, turning her head so she wasn’t looking at him. In the moonlit darkness, Izuku could just barely make out the red dusting across Setsuna’s face. “Can you just hold me tonight? I… I need to know you’re still here.”

Rather than respond, Izuku simply clutched the girl to him, shuffling so they were laying down, and pulled the blanket over them. She snuggled into his chest, releasing a contented sigh. Izuku gently wiped the tear tracks off her cheeks, then planted a kiss on her forehead.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

 

“C’mon, Izuku! You’re gonna miss the plane!”

“Good. I’d rather swim back home.”

Setsuna rolled her eyes, and backtracked to grab Izuku’s left hand, the one not occupied with his suitcase. She attempted to drag him forward, but ended up getting yanked backwards. When she spun around to snap at him, he just raised an eyebrow, and she went quiet, slightly embarrassed. She sometimes forgot just how strong he was, considering his lack of width. When Setsuna thought of strength, she thought of the bulky, muscular form of All Might, who was about twenty meters ahead of them.

“It’s not  _ that _ bad! It’s only, like, six hours. I think.

“Eight. We’re off the coast of Europe- basically the opposite side of the world. And I’ve already explained to you that I can’t sleep in vehicles.”

“Yeah, and it’s  _ dumb _ . Seriously, you think we’re all gonna forget to wake you up?” she asked, gesturing to the rest of the class- which was basically the entirety of Class 1-A.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not sleeping.”

Setsuna stuck her tongue out, and was about to blow a raspberry at him, when he leaned forward quickly, catching it between his teeth. He applied a bit of pressure, enough to make her squeal in pain, before pulling back.

“Next time you do that, I’m biting it off.”

Setsuna just pouted in silence, eying him warily as she debated whether or not to test that threat. Vaguely familiar laughter sounded to his right, and he turned.

“Melissa?”

“Hi, Izuku-kun! Did I surprise you?”

“Well, yeah. You here to see us off?”

“Something like that,” she said cheerily, gesturing to the suitcase wheeling behind her.

“You’re catching a flight, too? I thought you said residents of I-Island couldn’t travel for security reasons.”

“Yup! I guess it’s a good thing we’re not residents anymore, right?” She chuckled at his dumbfounded expression. “Come on, Izuku-kun, you didn’t think we’d be allowed to stay after that whole mess, did you?”

“I- I guess not… It’s just, don’t you still know a ton of confidential stuff? Isn’t that kinda risky?”

“No, not really. After what happened, the administrators did a full system overhaul; all the passwords and security measures are being changed as we speak. As for knowledge about 

potentially dangerous research, we don’t have any. The researchers are only allowed access to projects they’re working on, or have worked on in the past. Papa didn’t know 99% of the things that went on, so it’s actually pretty safe to let him go.”

“Um… Okay? Wait, what about the academy? Doesn’t that mean you’re being expelled?”

“I completed all my graduation requirements since last year. I was only staying there to be with my friends, and have access to the academy labs. They’re pretty cutting edge- much better than the run-of-the-mill stuff we have at home.”

Izuku could hardly comprehend this abrupt development. Of all the things he’d expected (which wasn’t much), this was definitely an event he’d have never ever considered. He was silent for a moment, eyes closed in concentration as he ran through all the information in his head. Finally, he nodded, turned straight, and kept walking.

“Aren’t you gonna ask where I’m going?” Melissa wondered, walking beside him.

“No. I’ve already got a migraine. I don’t wanna deal with it.”

Melissa frowned a bit, but perked up when Setsuna joined the conversation.

“Since Izu-kun’s being so mean, I’ll ask instead. Where’re you going, Melissa?”

“Japan, of course! Papa is going to work with a company that focuses on making everyday products for people with Mutation Quirks. It’s called Detnerat.”

“Detnerat? What kind of stupid-ass name is that?”

“Oh? I thought you weren’t going to join this conversation, Izuku-kun?” Melissa said mischievously, covering her mouth in an attempt to appear condescending.

“It’s hard to ignore when I’m literally in the middle of it.” Also because he vaguely recognized the name. If he remembered correctly, they were one of his mother’s many  _ business associates _ , which did not say very good things about their integrity. “Anyways, what about you? Are you gonna get a job or something?”

“Not quite. I’ll be going into Hero Support, like Papa used to do. I’ll give you three guesses where.”

“I’m not guessing.”

“You’re no fun, Izuku-kun,” Melissa moaned, pouting. “I’m transferring over to U.A’s Support Department!”

Izuku froze for a second, then kept walking. “Why? You’re only gonna be there for a semester, right?”

“Nope! I’m going to be joining at the start of the next school year, as a Third Year. I’ll be your Senpai!”

“Oh. Cool.”

“You could at least have a little more enthusiasm!”

“He’s just grumpy because he didn’t get his morning coffee,” Setsuna explained.

“Well,  _ someone _ wouldn’t wake up, so we had to rush to pack and catch the plane,” Izuku growled, tugging on the green-haired girl’s ear. She yelped, slapping at his hand futilely.

“Ow! Stop stop stop it’s gonna rip!” she cried, attracting attention from passerby, who smiled at the antics of the teens.

“Good.”

“Now, Izuku-kun, that’s no way to treat a lady,” Melissa chided, chuckling.

“I’ll keep that in mind when I meet one.”

Setsuna stopped her struggling to glare at him. “You’re mean.”

“You already knew that.”

She deflated slightly. “Yeah…”

“What about me, Izuku-kun?” Melissa asked, hugging his right arm to her chest, enveloping it with her incredibly-large breasts. She pushed her bottom lip out slightly, in a devious pout. Her eyes were half-closed, sparkling seductively. Izuku stared at her blankly for a moment.

“Let go. You’re gonna make me drop my suitcase.”

* * *

 

“Home, sweet home,” Izuku grumbled as he finally stepped foot into the Kyoto International Airport. He pinched the bridge of his nose, unsuccessfully attempting to reduce his fatigue-induced headache. Behind him, Setsuna yawned loudly, which pissed him off.

“My neck hurts~” she groaned, bending it this way and that to try and work out the kinks. Izuku silently scowled at her. She noticed, and she brought a hand up to hide her smug grin. “Oh ho? Are you tired, Izuku? What, didn’t you sleep on the plane?”

“I’m going to maim you.” Setsuna shivered at his flat tone. She was about to test him, just for fun, when she caught a glimpse of green hair in the crowd.

“Oh, I see my dad!” she said, looking at the man currently glaring daggers at the white-haired teen. “Bye, Izuku!” She jumped up, planting a kiss on his cheek, then turning to scurry off towards her shocked father. Izuku just sighed- apparently, that girl didn’t cause problems for him alone.

Inserting his headphones, which he’d removed to see off Setsuna, he began blasting music, and headed to the train station.

* * *

 

Izuku was shocked out of his bass-filled introspection by tapping on his shoulder. Startled, he whipped around, taking his hand off the front gate of his house, and yanking out his headphones. The sun was setting; who could possibly be bothering him  _ now? _

“Melissa!?”

“Hi, Izuku-kun! Surprised to see me?”

The teen glanced around, wondering if he was in the right place. There was his house, his neighbor’s house, the empty house next door, the people across the street’s house- everything looked the same…  _ Wait, why is Professor Shield standing on the house next door’s porch? _

David waved jauntily at Izuku, before turning around and entering the building. For the first time since Izuku could remember, there were lights on over there. He pointed at where David had been, jaw flapping uselessly. Melissa laughed.

“I’m here to say hi to the neighbors. So, hi!”

“Uh…”

“It’s surprising, isn’t it? The administration for I-Island picked this house for us, and set it up. I wonder if they knew you lived here?”

“Uh…”

“Anyways, I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll let you go inside now. But first!”

And then her lips were on his, and they were kissing fiercely. Izuku reacted without knowing what was going on, dropping his suitcase and tugging the girl closer. They separated after a few minutes, breathing heavily. Melissa’s eyes were glazed as she gently pulled herself out of his arms.

“Good night, Izuku-kun.”

Then she was gone, and Izuku was left standing in front of his gate, dazed. It was a long time before he managed to get to sleep that night.

* * *

 


	27. Chapter 27

“Shouldn’t you be sitting with  _ your _ class?”

“Vlad-sensei said it’s fine.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t, and I’m the Class Rep.”

“Well, Yaomomo’s the Vice Rep, and she said I could!”

Izuku jolted, and snapped his head to the right to stare judgmentally at Momo. “Momo, what’s this reptile saying? It sounded like she said you allowed this, but that can’t be right. Can you speak lizard and translate for me?” he asked menacingly, leaning closer and closer to the sweating girl. She coincidentally managed to find something outside the window to stare at. Izuku just sighed. “You’re always doing troublesome things…” he muttered, slouching back in his seat.

“Well,  _ someone _ has to do them,” Momo shot back. She pointedly ignored the glare he sent out of the corner of his eye, instead turning to Setsuna, sitting on Izuku’s left. “Although, why  _ did _ you want to sit with us, Tokage-san?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Setsuna asked, draping herself over Izuku in an exaggerated fashion. “I’m here to be with my lover, of course!”

All noise on the bus stopped, and the other members of Class 1-A put their conversations on hold to glance back at the loud girl. Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I think I’m gonna take a nap…” He went horizontal, resting his head on Momo’s thighs, and stretching his feet out across the seat. Setsuna shifted with him so she was curled up on his chest, purring like a contented cat. He was glad they’d had the foresight to sit in the back of the bus, which had a seat the width of the vehicle. It was just long enough to hold his entire length, with room to spare.

“M-Midoriya-kun!?” Momo whispered, face burning.

“What?”  
“W-What are you doing!?”

“I just said I’m going to take a nap. Don’t you listen?”

“I do listen, but  _ why are you laying down on my lap!? _ ”

“Pillows should be soft.”

And that was the end of that conversation.

* * *

 

“Is this really a rest area?” Izuku asked nobody in particular, looking around at the emergency stop area of the highway. It reminded him of the suicide cliff on the outskirts of Tokyo, where the Anteiku ghouls found their meals.

“Perhaps it’s just to give us a chance to stretch our legs? We’ve been in the bus for nearly two hours,” Momo said, walking in circles. Izuku’s head was not particularly heavy, but it applied just enough pressure to produce the feeling of pins and needles. Izuku smirked at the girl, who crossed her arms and looked away with a haughty huff. Setsuna, who was still half-sleep, chuckled drowsily. She was resting heavily against Izuku, barely standing on her own two legs. The whole of Class B, standing separately from Class A, was in a similar state to the green-haired girl. Apparently, they didn’t have the same boundless energy.

Izuku sighed, moving to run a hand through his hair. He stopped halfway through the motion, though. “Huh? That’s weird…”

“Wha?” Setsuna muttered, lolling her head back to look up at him.

“I could’ve sworn I forgot to brush my hair this morning, but there’s no knots…”

Momo pointedly focused on putting one foot in front of the other, hoping her face didn’t look as hot as it felt at the moment.

“Yo, Eraser!” The suspicious black car parked near the two buses opened, and out popped two women, wearing cat paraphernalia. Was it part of their Hero Costumes? It stood to reason that they were Pro Heroes, considering they were waiting here for them, and therefore affiliated with U.A.

“Lock on with these sparkling gazes!”

“Stingingly cute and catlike!”

“Wild Wild Pussycats!”

“...Tokoyami’s got competition in the chuuni department,” Izuku murmured, accidentally letting the words slip out. Said teen glared at him mildly, before simply shaking his feathered head and turning his attention back to the two women. One was dressed in red and pink, with short brown hair. The other was a platinum blonde, wearing a blue and white outfit.

“These are the Pro Heroes who will be working with us during the camp; the Pussycats,” Aizawa explained, gesturing to the two women. There was a kid standing beside them, sporting a spiked red cap and a murderous glare. It was rather impressive, for a kid.

“We own this entire stretch of land,” the brunette said. She pointed off into the distance, over the guardrails. “You’ll be staying at the foot of that mountain.”

_ That’s gotta be miles away… Why did we stop here? _

“It’s currently nine-thirty A.M,” the brunette continued, clapping her gloved hands together. She was smirking maliciously, and realization struck the students like lightning. “If you’re fast… Maybe you’ll get there around noon? Yeah. Kitties who don’t make it back by twelve-thirty won’t be getting lunch!”

Many students spun around, ready to sprint back to the buses, but the blonde was standing behind them. She slammed a cat paw into the ground, and the earth surged forward like a tidal wave, gathering everybody up, and tossing them over the ledge.

“By the way!” the brunette called down to them, “Since this is private land, you can use your Quirks as you wish! You have three hours to get through the Beast’s Forest!” And with that, the students were left on their own.

_ Beast’s Forest? _ Izuku stared out at the tree line, which suddenly seemed more ominous.  _ I know that some animals have been mutated by Quirks and Quirk-based experiments, but… Enough to call them  _ Beasts _? _

“Midoriya-kun, you can let me go now,” Momo said, snapping him out of his revelation. He had instinctively grabbed her on the way down. With a grunt, he released her from his grasp, then turned to Setsuna.

“You can just hold me forever,” she said, gazing into his eyes, her own sparkling with intense emotion. He dropped her like a sack of potatoes. “Ow! So mean, Izu-kun!”

“Good. You’re getting through this on your own- prove your worth, and all that. Later.” Izuku sprinted into the forest, leaving his peers behind. He was startled by the behemoth that stepped out from behind the trees, but didn’t hesitate to bounce off a tree and slam a kick into its head, cutting a line clean through. The monster exploded into dust.

_ Must’ve been made by the blonde woman’s Quirk. Earth control, huh? Powerful stuff. _

If these beasts were being made by the Pussycats, then they were just a test. There was no reason to actually fight them, since it would just slow him down. With this in mind, Izuku took to the tree branches high above, flying through the forest as enraged roars echoed around him.

* * *

 

“You’re here already, Midoriya?”

Izuku hopped down from the bough he stood upon, landing in front of his homeroom teacher. He was breathing heavily, and more than a bit dirty, but he hadn’t sustained any injuries. He’d have to keep it that way.

“How long did I take?”

Aizawa pulled out his phone, checking the time. “A half-hour. Good work.” Izuku nodded.

“So, I noticed you didn’t really fight any of my earth beasts?” the blonde said, saddling up to him. He nodded again. “You know, Heroes don’t really run from a fight.”

“They’ll avoid it if it’s unnecessary, though. Why would I spend time destroying the beasts when you could just remake them? I can’t afford to waste energy like that.”

“Hmm? Any particular reason?” Izuku remained silent, so Aizawa spoke up.

“He sustained a pretty heavy injury a few weeks ago. I doubt he’s up to full strength yet, regeneration or not. Am I right?”

Izuku nodded, refraining from elaboration despite the blonde’s inquiring looks. Thankfully, they let him go with a simple warning not to overdo it, and directions to a place he could rest for now. Izuku went inside the building to take a nap.

* * *

 

Hours later, Aizawa woke Izuku up, telling him to get his stuff off the bus and go down to eat. After that, he could take a bath and go back to bed.

Dinner was a hilarious affair. All the other students were cramming food into their mouths like they’d never eaten before, and were crying over how heavenly it tasted. It made sense, in a way; they’d taken at least six hours to traverse the forest, missing lunch in the proces, and exerting themselves extensively nearly the entire time. Izuku wouldn’t begrudge their lack of table manners. He would, however, get pissed off if another person asked him how he finished so quickly. Apparently, the answer  _ I ran fast _ was insufficient. As was  _ I ran  _ really _ fast _ .

His mood soured further in the hot spring.

Monoma was ranting about how shameful it was that any students in Class A were taking the remedial courses, Katsuki was raging aimlessly, Iida was trying to mediate in his excessive manner, and then…

“Well, frankly, food and stuff isn’t really that important. What I’m really here for is beyond that wall,” Mineta mused, standing in front of the partition between the male and female sides of the bath.

_ Is he going to…? _

“Walls… Walls are meant to be climbed over!”

_ Yes. Yes he is. _

Mineta was scaling the wall with surprising agility, using the orbs produced by his Quirk to create handholds. Izuku sighed, which quickly turned into a growl at the thought of Mineta peeking on Momo or Setsuna. A single kagune ripped through his back, shooting through the air to wrap around Mineta’s neck. The short boy was yanked from the wall. Izuku was tempted to just crush his trachea then and there. Instead, he settled for leaving him hanging in the air, futilely struggling to breathe. The tentacle was wrapped around his throat just tightly enough to constrict his windpipe, but not enough to completely cut off his air supply.

Thankfully, nobody- Iida included- commented on his methods, so the bath finished in  peace.

* * *

 

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!” Aizawa cried with an unusual amount of gusto. “Today, we’ll begin the training camp in earnest. The goal is to increase everyone’s strength, and use that strength to obtain a Provisional Hero License. With Villain activity on the rise, you’ll need it. So, Midoriya, try throwing that.” He tossed a ball to Izuku, who caught it.

“This is from the fitness test,” he muttered, weighing the sphere. The students from Classes A looked at each other in confusion.

“Correct. Your record, at the start of the school year, was six hundred sixty-six meters. Let’s see if you’ve improved.”

Izuku stepped away from the group to get some space, and began doing some stretches. Finally, he wound back his arm, and let the ball fly. Moments later, Aizawa’s phone pinged. The man stared at the device for a long while, then he held it up to the crowd.

“Five hundred meters.”

The group exploded into noise.

“Did he get weaker!?”

“How is that even possible!?”

Izuku grimaced as the outraged comments washed over him, his thunderous scowl deepening by the second. Eventually, Aizawa spoke, silencing them instantly.

“It’s been three months, and you’ve all been improving. However, that’s been at a mental and technical level. Physically, you’ve nearly stagnated- Midoriya is a special case. That’s why we’ll be working on improving your Quirks, starting today.” Aizawa grinned demonically, causing more than a few of the teens to pale at his creepy enthusiasm, “It’ll be so hard you’ll feel like dying,” the scruffy man promised, “But try not to  _ actually _ die.”

* * *

 

Setsuna was…  _ Concerned, _ to say the least. The tortured screams of her fellow students had that effect.

“How are you going to handle forty of us in total, Vlad-sensei?” Itsuka asked, seemingly ignoring the cries of the damned.

“I won’t be doing it alone,” he said, gesturing to the four Pro Heroes dressed in cat gear.

“That’s right!” the teal-haired woman cried. “The four of us are one!”

“Lock on with these sparkling gazes!”

“We’ve come to lend a paw and help!”

“ _ Coming out of nowhere…” _

“Stingingly cute and catlike!”

“Wild Wild Pussycats! The full version!”

“I’m Ragdoll! My Quirk is Search!” the teal-haired woman said. “I can learn all the info about up to a hundred people by just looking at them! I can find out their location and weaknesses, too!”

“I’m Pixie-Bob!” the blonde said. “With my Quirk, Earthflow, I can make the perfect place for each to train!”

“I’m Mandalay!” the brunette said. “My Quirk, Telepath, allows me to give advice to multiple people at one time!”

“I’m Tiger,” the muscular man said ominously, glaring at the students. “My job is assault through punching and kicking. All you power-up types, come with me! Tiger’s Bootcamp has already begun!”

And with that, Class B split apart to join their peers from Class A in the training camp hell.

* * *

 

“Hit me with all you’ve got!” Tiger shouted when he lead the students from Class B over to the clearing Izuku was in. The white-haired teen, who had been doing push-ups at the time, leapt to his feet, and rushed at the Hero.

Izuku lashed out with a straight jab, and was rewarded with his attack completely missing, as Tiger used his Pliabody to bend out of the way. The man responded with a punishing uppercut, sending Izuku stumbling back. He wasn’t actually injured, but the two-hundred kilo weights attached to each of his limbs made movement somewhat difficult. He’d been wearing them for less than an hour, but he was already sweating furiously. His speed suffered from the increased mass, and his follow-up attacks all missed as well.

“You’re pretty lively!” TIger roared after knocking Izuku back for the dozenth time. “That means your muscle fibers haven’t been ripped apart yet! U.A’s motto is Plus Ultra, right!? Show me the  _ ULTRA!” _

* * *

 

Izuku was so glad he didn’t need to eat as much as his classmates, because otherwise, he would surely be despairing right now.

_ Today’s the only day we’ll be doing stuff for you, she said. Looks like she’s following through. These poor kids… _

It was somewhat cathartic, watching them struggle through making something as simple as curry due to their exhaustion. Izuku could have helped- he’d learned how to cook decently over the years, as part of his cover- but he was still wearing the weights. Tiger ordered him to not take them off for anything other than baths and sleep, so he could squeeze out the most training he could in this week. As such, he was rather unwieldy right now. He might accidentally break a table or something, which would not be very conducive to cooking.

Currently, Izuku was sitting on the ground, leaning his back against the bench Setsuna peeled vegetables on. His one arm was loosely wrapped around her waist, despite her complaints that it felt like a roller coaster safety bar was trying to crush her.

“Seriously, Izu-kun, I appreciate that you want to hug me, but can you do it when you’re  _ not _ as heavy as an elephant?”

“I’m not as heavy as an elephant right now, so it’s fine.”

“That’s not the point!”

Izuku grunted, bending his wrist to poke her in the side. The girl shrieked, dropping her knife. It clattered against the wooden table while she beat on his arm.

“S-stop!” she cried, trying and failing to squirm out of his grasp. Izuku was getting into it, however. He dragged Setsuna off the bench, into his lap, and used both his hands to violently caress her sides. She broke into strained laughs, tears running down her face. “I- I’m gonna die! Stop!”

“Midoriya-kun.” Izuku stopped his ministrations to look up at the exasperated Momo. “Let Tokage-san finish her task before you distract her, please. Just because you’re not hungry doesn’t mean the rest of us aren’t.”

Izuku sighed, doing as the Vice Rep commanded. He eyed her thoughtfully, causing her to take a wary step back.

“W-what?”

“Are  _ you _ finished?”

“...Yes?”

“Cool. I’m hanging with you, then.”

“...I’d rather you didn’t.”

“I’d rather he  _ did! _ ” Setsuna cried, still clutching her waist. “My stomach hurts from laughing too hard!” she whined. Izuku just shrugged in the face of her accusatory glare.

“You’ll live.”

“I better! Go play with Yaomomo for now- I’m mad at you!” Her exaggerated pout and crossed arms just made him chuckle. He flicked the lizard girl in the forehead, ignoring her indignant shout, and held out a hand to Momo.

“So? Wanna go  _ play _ ?”

His tone made her pause for a second, but eventually, Momo grabbed his offered palm, smiling lightly. “I suppose  _ someone _ has to keep an eye on you.”

* * *

 

“Wow! This lake is beautiful!” Momo cried, eyes sparkling.

“It’d be a great place to cool off,” Izuku muttered, staring at the stars reflected off the smooth surface of the water. The lake was huge, probably around a kilometer across, and shimmering a gorgeous sapphire in the moonlight. “We should definitely tell everyone about this- we could come after we finish training tomorrow.”

“Yeah! It’d be like a beach trip! Oh, we could play volleyball, or frisbee, or water polo! It’s a good thing we packed swimsuits just in case! Ah, but would Sensei allow us? What if he says we have to focus more on training? And what about the students with remedial classes? I don’t think Aizawa-sensei would let them go, even if the rest of us get permission… Why are you looking at me like that, Midoriya-kun?”

“You’re… Very bouncy, aren’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Nothing, nothing. Think the others are done with dinner yet?”

She stared at him with narrowed eyes for a long while, trying to figure out if he was being truthful or not, before finally nodding. “Most likely. We have been away for quite some time.”

“Alright, let’s go. By the way… Do you know how to get back?”

* * *

 

“I don’t get why she’s so mad… It’s not like  _ she _ remembered the way back either.”

“Anyone would be mad if they had to spend time with your dumbass.”

“Is that why you’re always such an asshole, Katsuki?”

“Damn straight, dipshit.”

Izuku rolled his eyes. He sort of missed the days when Katsuki would blow up with little-to-no provocation. Now, they could trade barbs like this without the blond even slowing down his eating.

“How’s your training been, Katsuki? Tiger’s been working us to the bone, and he won’t let me take these things off,” Izuku groaned, dropping an arm on the table. The weight attached to it caused the wood to rattle, shaking everybody’s plate.

“I think it’s working already. I have to dunk my hands in boiling water- to increase the size of my sweat glands, Aizawa-sensei said. It makes sense; larger sweat glands means more nitro, and bigger boom.”

“Bigger boom is always pretty nice.”

“Right? I’m gonna ask Sensei if I can do the ball throw tomorrow. I got seven-hundred five point two meters at the start of the school year. I can probably break seven-twenty now. Speaking of which, how the hell did you  _ lose _ a hundred-sixty meters?”

“Remember how I got fucked up back at I-Island?”

“Yeah. You were hurt pretty bad- you’re lucky that upperclassmen caught you.”

“I know. I don’t even wanna think about what would have happened if Hado-senpai hadn’t been there… Anyways, I was pretty low on energy. I think my body just broke down my muscles to fuel my regeneration. Nothing permanent, but definitely annoying.”

“Well, so long as you can fix it, then it’s probably fine for now.”

“...Yeah. Something like that.”

For some reason, a chill wracked his spine.

* * *

 

 


	28. Chapter 28

Day three went much like day two; wake up at the asscrack of dawn, listen to the bitching of the remedial class students (Kaminari, Ashido, Sato, Kirishima, Sero, and the blessedly-quiet Todoroki), get put through his paces by Tiger, and sit down with the others for dinner. After they were done eating, Momo got the attention of the rest of students.

“Everyone! I have an announcement to make!” she called, standing up on the bench to be easily seen. It took a moment, but they all eventually quieted down. “Yesterday, while wandering in the forest- and subsequently getting  _ lost _ -” She glared fiercely at Izuku, who held his hands up in surrender. “Midoriya-kun and I found a gorgeous lake! I’ve spoken with the teachers, and they’ve given us permission to go down and swim!”

The cheers were explosive, and somewhat surprising, considering how exhausted everyone was. The students of both classes leapt to their feet, racing to the lodges to get their swimsuits. There was no need for sunscreen, since the sun wasn’t hanging directly over their head anymore. It would remain above the horizon for a few more hours, though, painting the sky yellow and orange.

Izuku joined the tide of teens, amused by the sudden burst of energy.

* * *

 

“Izu-kun, you’re not supposed to wear a t-shirt with your swimming trunks!” Setsuna whined, tugging futilely at his white shirt. Sure, it clung to him wonderfully, outlining his sharp contours, but she wanted  _ more _ . She was wearing a simple, yet rather revealing, emerald two-piece bikini.

“Yeah, well, I’m also not supposed to wear a combined weight of eight-hundred kilos and go swimming, but here we are.”

“Tiger-sensei didn’t let you take them off?” Momo asked, walking up beside them. She wore a two piece as well, with a base color of baby blue, covered up by red and yellow floral patterns. A transparent shawl hung around her waist, split down the middle to expose a bit of her bare thighs. It hung down to her knees.

“Nah. Should be fine, so long as I don’t go out too far. You look good,” he said, trailing his eyes up and down Momo’s luscious form. She blushed, turning her head away.

“T-thank you…” she murmured.

Setsuna gasped. “You didn’t compliment  _ me! _ No fair!”

Izuku shrugged. “I figured it went without saying.”

Setsuna huffed, crossing her arms. “Not good enough!”

Smirking, Izuku looped an arm around Setsuna’s waist, lifting her slightly off the ground. “Well, let me just say that you look so beautiful that if nobody was around, I would…” He leaned closer, his whispered words brushing against her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Throughout his near-silent tirade, Setsuna turned redder and redder. When Izuku finally let go, she fled the scene, fiery face covered with her hands, muffling her cries about going to chat with Kendo.

Izuku laughed heartily, and Momo sighed in exasperation. “Midoriya-kun, what did you say to her?”

“You sure you wanna know?”

“...Not really. Actually, don’t tell me.”

“Aw, come on. It applies to you, too.”

“No, I assure you, I am fine.”

“Whatever. Wanna go swimming?”

“Of course! It’s what we came to do.”

“Cool. Race you to the water!” Izuku shouted, not even waiting for Momo to remove her waist wrap before he was gone. She yelped in surprise, ripping the cloth off and allowing it to flutter to the ground carelessly. She began running after him, but knew it was a lost cause- even when he was nearly a metric ton heavier, he was still much faster than Momo could ever hope to be on her two feet. By the time she reached the edge of the water, Izuku was already deep under the surface, slithering around like a shark.

Unable to properly see him, Momo took a tentative step into the lake, relishing in the feel of the cool liquid on a hot summer day. Her sigh of relief at being able to escape from the sweltering heat became a shriek of horror when something latched onto her ankles, yanking roughly on the limb and pulling her completely under. Luckily, she managed to keep her mouth shut, so she wasn’t suddenly on the verge of drowning. Still, she was not very happy, made known by the thunderous scowl marring her face.

Izuku laughed silently, air bubbles pouring out of his mouth, and he kicked up to the surface, dragging the irate girl with him. When they broke the surface, his roaring laughter rolled off the water, echoing like a cannon shot.

“Midoriya-kun, that was _not_ funny!”  
“What’re you talkin’ about? It was _hilarious!_ Your _face!_ ”

She would have crossed her arms, if she was not using them to tread water. Instead, she settled for puffing up her cheeks in an adorable pout. 

Izuku poked one, causing it to deflate. “Come on, it wasn’t  _ that _ bad, was it?” he asked, sounding legitimately concerned. Momo didn’t answer, instead turning away and swimming back toward the shore.

Well, she attempted to. Izuku just slipped an arm around her waist, gently but firmly bringing her close to him. Then, he stopped kicking his legs, allowing the weights to slowly drag them down. Momo struggled for a bit, until they were submerged once more. She finally accepted that his iron grip was unrelenting, and relaxed a bit. They were horizontal, with Momo on top of him, resting her arms against his solid chest. The warmth he radiated contrasted pleasantly with the biting chill of the lake water, and Momo found herself unconsciously trying to move closer to him.

A second arm came around her, completing the hug, and Momo let out another sigh- this time due to contentedness. The air bubbles clung to her mouth for a moment, tickling her lips, before letting go and floating out of sight. The two remained like that for another minute or so, floating amidst the aurora created by the piercing sunlight, floating with the gentle currents, until Momo tapped on Izuku’s chest. When he looked at her, she pointed up. He just grinned.

She was irritated by his smugness, and dug her fingers into his side. The white-haired teen twitched a bit, but remained steadfast in his amusement. Seconds passed, and Momo went from aggravated to panicked, slapping her palms against him as hard as she could. She needed air!

Finally, with some disgruntled bubbling, Izuku moved so their heads were pointing up, and began propelling them to the surface with powerful strides. Despite his handicap, he was making quick progress, and it wasn’t long before Momo was panting heavily, cycling fresh oxygen into her lungs.

“What… Is  _ wrong _ with you!?” she cried, voice echoing across the lake. On the far shore, a few students glanced at them in curiosity.

“Sorry. I forgot people can’t normally hold their breath for five minutes.”  
“Of course not! Well, maybe Tsu-chan can, but that’s besides the point!”

“Really? I thought that  _ was _ the point though.”

“No! The  _ point _ is that it’s not okay to try and drown me!”

“Alright, first of all, I wouldn’t  _ need _ to try and drown you. If I wanted you dead, you would be, but I definitely  _ don’t _ want you dead, so I wouldn’t do that in the first place. Second, I actually did forget, so calm down, ‘kay?”

Momo huffed irately- which he noticed was becoming a habit with her, studiously ignoring the fact that it was his fault to begin with- and began the lengthy swim back to shore. Izuku frowned slightly, and moved to join her, his powerful strokes keeping pace with her quick and efficient paddling. They swam in silence, until they finally reached land. Upon climbing onto the shore, Momo loosely crossed her arms, and began briskly walking around the lake towards the rest of the students. Feeling somewhat awkward, Izuku followed.

_ It’s not  _ that _ big of a deal, is it? She had a little trouble breathing, so what? It’s not like she was at the point where she was trying to inhale water… _

Of course, Izuku kept his thoughts to himself. Momo seemed about as volatile at Katsuki’s nitroglycerin; he didn’t want to set her off. Since he didn’t know what he could say while avoiding that, he just kept quiet. It was a rather tense walk through the forest.

* * *

 

“Did you do something to Yaomomo?” Setsuna asked, observing the menacing aura radiating from Class A’s Vice Rep.

“Yeah, kinda. We were just relaxing underwater, but I held her under a bit too long, and she got really mad,” Izuku muttered, shaking his head.

“Ah, so you tried to drown her. That explains why she’s so mad.”

“I did not! Seriously, we were only under for, like, two and a half minutes!”

“Izu-kun, normal people can’t hold their breath that long.”

“Yeah, I figured that out when she was yelling at me…”

“Well, just keep it in mind for next time. And don’t you dare try to do it to me!”

“I won’t, you stupid lizard.”

“Good. Wanna go play volleyball? They set up a net over there.”

“Ah… I dunno. It’ll be kinda hard playing with the extra weight. What if I hit the ball too hard?”

“Don’t worry about that! Plus, they’ll act like a handicap, so you don’t completely destroy the other team! You might as well, since Yaomomo’s not gonna forgive you anytime soon.”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

* * *

 

Izuku’s team (consisting of him, Setsuna, Kendo, Tetsutetsu, Ashido, and Kaminari) lost handily, with a final score of ten to twenty-five, in favor of the other team (Asui, Sato, Uraraka, Kirishima, Hagakure, and Tsuburaba). That was partially Izuku’s fault. He played way too cautiously, fearing accidentally landing on one of his class with his metric-ton-weight, and injuring them. They relied on him, as the tallest one, to reach the high sets, but he missed a lot whenever the ball was near someone. He focused more on his teammates’ position than that of the ball, which led to their brutal defeat.

In his defense, Asui’s spikes were crazy. Her leaps were insanely high- much higher than he could go at the moment- allowing her to send the ball over the net no matter her position on the field. There was also Hagakure, using invisibility to strike from the most unexpected locations. At some point, she’d stripped off her eye-catching yellow swimsuit to fully utilize her Quirk. That had the side effect of disabling Tsuburaba, who had to sit out after his nose began pouring blood like a sink faucet at the thought of playing side-by-side with a naked girl, but they still won.

Kendo’s Big Fists provided some great defense, and Ashido was pretty agile, bending at some weird angles to return the ball, but Asui nearly always slammed it right back at them with speeds they couldn’t easily keep up with. Especially when Uraraka subtly activated her Quirk on a set- that had been  _ insane _ .

Still, it was a ton of fun. There were rounds of congratulations, and a ton of laughter (except from Mineta, who was banned from playing by everyone, including the other spectators), before Setsuna clambered up his back and onto his shoulders, wrapping her milky-white thighs firmly around his head, partially covering his ears.

“Chicken fight!” she shouted, pointing in the direction of the lake, whipping the other teens into a frenzy. Tetsutetsu awkwardly called for Kendo to climb on him, and they were the first ones to face Izuku and Setsuna.

“No fair! You can’t use your Quirk!” Kendo cried when Setsuna Split her upper body, preventing Class B’s Rep from getting a proper grasp on her.

“Then the same goes for you!” Setsuna shouted, piecing herself back together. Grudgingly, Kendo shrank her hands to their slightly larger-than-average size, and the girls locked fingers in a battle for dominance. It was a forgone conclusion; as a practitioner of martial arts, the orange-haired girl was much stronger. A shrieking lizard girl splashed into the water, dragging a flailing Izuku along for the ride, due to her impressive- and painful- grip on his sensitive scalp.

“Let go of my hair, dammit!”

“No! The ship has to go down with the captain!”

“It’s the other way around, dumbass!”

“I’ll drag you to Davy Jones’ Locker!”

“How come you got that one right!?”

Up next was Ojiro and Hagakure. It was a good thing Hagakure deigned to toss her swimsuit back on, because if Ojiro blushed any harder, his face would explode.

“It’s a great feeling, right?” Izuku whispered conspiratorially to his classmate, while Setsuna struggled with thin air. “A girl’s thighs?”

Ojiro yelped in shock, taking a startled step back. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an easy thing to do in the water, and he ended up becoming unbalanced. Arms and tail waving uselessly, he tipped backwards, bringing Hagakure with him. Invisible Girl was incredibly mischievous, however, and refused to relinquish her grip on Setsuna’s hands. All four students went into the drink, yelling in panic.

“We definitely won that one!” Setsuna shouted, the instant she popped back above the surface.

“So why’d we end up in the water too!?” Izuku asked, a second behind her in resurfacing.

“That’s your fault, Izu-kun!” she chirped, poking him in the nose. He snatched her finger between his teeth without a second thought. “Ow! Ow ow ow! You’re gonna bite it off!”

“That’s the point!” Izuku growled around the digit, digging in slightly harder, eliciting a gasp of pain. She slapped her hand against his face, pushing him back. It worked for a moment. Izuku was forced to release her, or risk actually separating her finger from her hand. Instead of just giving up, though, Izuku surged forward like a tidal wave, trapping Setsuna under his arms, and therefore the combined weights still wrapped around his limbs. Kicking powerfully, he dragged her deeper and deeper into the lake, ignoring her futile struggles with a demonic grin.

When Setsuna noticed his macabre grin, she quivered violently, and began flailing more wildly than before. Eventually, though, she just gave up, When the amount of bubbles escaping her mouth slowed, Izuku flipped them over, so she was resting on his chest. It was remarkably similar to his swim with Momo, but he pushed that thought away, preferring to focus on the here and now. Besides, there hadn’t been any kissing earlier.

As usual, Setsuna’s lips were soft, along with her tongue, which darted out every now and then to meet his in the middle. The contrast between the heat of her body and the cold of the water was enticing, drawing Izuku in. He wanted more, and apparently, Setsuna was thinking the same thing, because they both reached down to the hem of his t-shirt at the same time. They broke apart to share an amused smile, working together to yank the white cloth over his head, before diving back into each other. Their stomachs were pressed together tightly, Izuku’s arms around Setsuna’s waist to keep them like that, while Setsuna’s arms around his neck ensured their mouths separated for no less than a millisecond at any given time.

Setsuna was idly surprised by how smooth Izuku’s hands were, as they ran up and down her back, tracing her spine, wracking her body with shivers. A fierce fighter like him should have had calluses all along his palm, right? Instead, they were as smooths as the thighs he was rubbing, his thin, spindly fingers digging sharply into her flesh. The sharp pinpricks of pain just made her hyper-aware of him, and she had no objections when those wandering hands moved up to her shapely rear.

The whole while, Izuku was taking advantage of their mouth-to-mouth contact by pushing air into Setsuna’s lungs. He wanted this to last longer, and being interrupted by something as petty as the need for oxygen would surely piss him off. 

Unfortunately, despite his wishes, it eventually happened. Though it was hard to see, so far under the surface and away from the evening light, Setsuna’s eyes were glazed with something other than hormonal lust. Exhaling a stream of bubbles through his nose, Izuku began the long trek back to the surface, clutching Setsuna to his chest as he moved his legs.

When their heads popped up, they both took in simultaneous deep breaths, calmly refilling their oxygen reserves, satisfied smiles on their face.

“We have to do that more,” Setsuna purred, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck. Izuku chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess I haven’t been paying much attention to you. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that soon enough.”

When they returned to the rest of the class, they were the victims of much catcalling.

“Oi! Where’d your shirt go, Midori-chan!? Not that I don’t mind the show!” Ashido yelled. Confused, Izuku clapped a hand to his chest, confused when skin made contact with skin.

“Oh shit. I think I left in the lake,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, much to their amusement.

“Is that why you were underwater for so long!?” Kaminari asked. “We were gonna stage a rescue mission if you didn’t come back in another minute or two!”

“Midoriya, you bastard! What do you think you’re doing with so many girls!?” Mineta shouted, but was promptly ignored by everyone present, just on principle.

* * *

 

The sun was finally setting, and the moon would be out soon. After playing a few more games, like tossing around a beach ball, and playing catch with a frisbee, the students finally returned to the lodge. Aizawa was waiting for them.

“Alright, you remedial class students. I’ve let you have your fun; now, it’s time to work. Get changed and meet me in the classroom. The rest of you, good job with training today. Hit the sack- I’ll see you in the morning.”

Izuku had to laugh at the tortured groans of those poor people, though the insane ranting from Monoma kinda killed the mood.

_ Jeez, how mentally strong is that kid? He’s yelling about how the people in remedial classes are trash, like he isn’t one of them. Maybe he’s just too stupid to notice…? _

Izuku thought about saying goodnight to Momo, but was disabused of that notion fairly quickly. He locked gazes with her obsidian eyes, only for her to toss her head to the side with a haughty huff, turning to go to the girls’ sleeping area. Setsuna, who noticed, shot a thumbs-up at Izuku, and went to talk with the angry Vice Rep. Izuku could only sigh, wondering just how the green-haired girl would mess it up. He probably should have had more faith in her, but he was too accustomed to her brainless antics to hope for much. With a shrug, he turned as well, ready to sleep the night away.

* * *

 

Day four of seven. Well, technically eight, since they would be spending seven nights, and leaving on the eighth morning. More training with the ruthless Tiger, laughing at the misfortune of his peers, cursing his own suffering, and then it was dinner time.

However, today was a bit different. Izuku noticed that the kid who hung around Mandalay was wandering off into the forest, with none of the Pussycats any the wiser. Frowning, Izuku moved to follow. The other students were more focused on preparing their meals to be concerned about his location, thankfully.

_ It’s a little dangerous for a kid to be roaming the forest at nights- no clue what kind of animals are out there. Wonder where he’s going, though? He doesn’t look like he’s paying attention, but he’s still taking turns at certain places… Unless he’s just walking aimlessly. Shit, I hope not. _

Izuku followed the kid all the way to a cave, nearly a mile away from the camp. It was a bit of a hike up the mountain, but the view from the precipice was worth the climb. For a moment, Izuku stood there, admiring the setting sun painting the sky a myriad of warm colors, before he turned back to the task at hand.

“Oi, kid. What’re ya doin’ out here?”

The kid whirled around, obviously not expecting him to be there. “W-what are you doing here!? How’d you find this place!?” he barked, surprisingly gruff for one so young.

“Followed ya. You should really work on your situational awareness,” Izuku replied casually, waving away the aggression. He walked over, plopping himself down at the edge of the cliff, feet dangling over the side. He patted the ground next to him, an obvious gesture for the kid to sit. Surprisingly, he did. Izuku couldn’t see his expression, considering the difference in height, but had a feeling it matched his spiky hat; sharp, and ready to attack.

“What’s your name?” Izuku asked, figuring it was a good way to break the ice.

“Shouldn’t you be introducing yourself first?”

“Ah, right, right. My bad- guess my manners are a bit rusty. I’m Izuku.”

“...Kota.”

“Nice to meet ya, Kota. Now, what’s a kid like you doing all the way out here?”

“I live with the Pussycats. Shino’s my aunt. She’s Mandalay, by the way.”

“Alright. Then, why are you all the way over here, so far from the camp?”

“...This is my secret hideout. Sometimes, I like to be alone.”

“Fair enough. I get like that, too. It just feels like too much work sometimes, dealing with people, right? Barely anyone understands that just because you’re hanging out, doesn’t mean ya gotta keep talking the whole time. Although, I guess that’s just because some people are uncomfortable with silence. So… Which are you, Kota?”

“...I like the quiet.”

“Good, good. You’re one of the rare few. Just be careful, though.”

Kota tilted his head up, so that Izuku could finally see the eyes under the crimson brim of his hat. He seemed confused, uncertainty swimming around in his dark pupils.

“Careful of what?”

Izuku just smiled gently, and shook his head. He turned to watch over the trees, listening to the chirping songs of birds, relishing in the heat washing over him. Surprisingly, it was Kota who interrupted the silence.

“Why are you trying to become a Hero?”

Izuku tilted his head, but kept his eyes forward. “Why…?”

“Getting all into trying to improve your Quirk- why? Do you want to show off your power that badly?”

“I… Don’t really know. It feels like so long ago that I wrote up my application for U.A… I don’t remember what I was thinking back then. Maybe I did want to show off… Or maybe I wanted to actually be a Hero, and save as many people as I could.”

Kota scoffed. “Everyone’s crazy. Calling each other made-up names like  _ Hero  _ and  _ Villain _ , talking about Quirks all the time, like they actually mean anything. They all just want an excuse to kill each other. That’s why it always ends up like _ that… _ ”

“With people dying?” Izuku asked. “...Did it happen to someone close to you?” Kota turned his head away with a growl, unwittingly answering his question. Izuku sighed.

“Who was it?” he asked bluntly. Kota stiffened, but made no move to leave, despite his obvious discomfort.

“,,,My parents,” he muttered, so lowly Izuku had to strain to hear him.

“So that’s why you live with the Pussycats. Were your parents Heroes?”

Kota nodded robotically.

“Do you hate the Villain that killed them?”

Another jilted nod.

“Do you hate Heroes, for drawing attention to themselves like that? Prancing around with their power on display, attracting challengers?”

This time, Kota’s gesture was much more heated, and Izuku was momentarily worried the kid would toss his vertebrae out of alignment.

“Do you hate your parents for being Heroes?”

Kota was startled, snapping his head sideways to face the teen with shock written all over his face. “T-that’s-!”

“You resent them, for being so stupid, right? After all, if they hadn’t gone to show off, they’d probably still be al-”

_ “SHUT UP!”  _ Kota roared, voice cracking from strain. “You don’t know  _ anything _ about them!” He jumped up, fierce glare burning holes into the white-haired teen, meaty toddler fists clenched impotently at his side. His hands were shaking- from fear at his admittedly-imposing figure, or from the effort required to restrain himself from attacking, Izuku didn’t know.

“No, I don’t. So why don’t you correct me?”

“Water Hose was the greatest Hero Duo in Japan! They saved so many people! It’s not their fault that stupid Villain was- was…!” Kota’s voice trailed off, throat closing off as he choked on his tears, trying to keep them at bay. Unfortunately, it was pointless. They flowed like a river, and the boy fell to his knees, wailing, tiny hands flying up to wipe endlessly at his eyes.

Izuku had expected this, and was ready to gather the boy into a hug, ignoring the salt water and snot dripping onto his shoulder. He pulled Kota’s hat off, setting it on the ground, and gently stroked his spiky black hair, flattening it further with each pass.

They stayed like that for a while, sitting in near-silence, save for the boy’s sobs, until Kota eventually pulled away. His eyes were bloodshot-red, the surrounding skin raw from his furious rubbing. He noticed the dark patch on Izuku’s shoulder, showing clearly through his blue shirt. The kid turned away, embarrassed.

“S-sorry about the stain…”

“Hm? Nah, it’s fine. I’m more worried about  _ you _ \- do you even understand what it is that you hate?”

“I… I hate people who show off with their power.”

“But who, exactly, does that include?”

“I… I don’t know, okay!?”

“It’s  _ not _ okay,” Izuku said firmly, grabbing Kota by the shoulders, forcing the boy to face him. “You can’t let your hatred paint the world you see, or everything will just be black and white. You have to know  _ exactly _ what it is that you detest, or those feelings will taint  _ everything _ . And you running off to be alone with just your thoughts in this secret hideout is only gonna make it worse, because everything’s gonna pile up until you can’t see five meters in front of you. Do you understand?”

Kota nodded shakily.

“ _ Do you understand!?” _ Izuku yelled, startling the boy.

“I- I understand!” Kota yelled back, slightly less loud.

“Good. Now, tell me, what do you hate!?”

“I- I hate Villains that kill people!” Kota cried, raising his volume.

“And what’re you gonna do about it!?” Izuku screamed.

“I’ll become a Hero, so I can stop them!” Kota roared, his voice bouncing off the mountain, startling some birds in the forest down below.

“Alright, cool. I guess I’m done here.” Izuku climbed to his feet, dusting off his pants, and clapping his hands once. He turned to leave, when he was stopped by Kota’s voice.

“W-wait! Where are you going?”

“I’m goin’ to bed. It’s late, and I’m tired as  _ fuck _ .”

“So… What was the point…?”

“You looked lost. I can’t give you a roadmap, but I can at least point you in the right direction. Night, brat.”

* * *

 


	29. Chapter 29

“Alright, everyone! I hope you’re not too tired, because tonight we’ll be having a test of courage, with the two classes pitted against each other!”

It was a good thing they’d just had dinner, or the students wouldn’t have even been standing. The Pussycats, in response to their steadily increasing stamina, had ramped up training, pushing them harder than ever before. And then…

“By the way,” Aizawa piped up, “Remedial class students, you’re still with me. Come on- we have work to do.”

When those six were gone, taking with them their whining and the sympathy of their classmates, Pixie-Bob called for everyone to gather around.

“Okay, here’s how we’re gonna do this! The test will require you to enter the forest and follow the path we’ve marked out. At the halfway mark, Ragdoll will be there to hand you a tag with your names on it. Collect that, finish the loop through the forest, and you’ll be done! The classes will take turns scaring each other; first up will be Class B. You guys, head out and set up your traps. We have a few costumes at the checkpoint- Ragdoll will show them to you. By the way, the scarers aren’t allowed to make physical contact with the test-takers, so show us how scary you are with just your Quirks! Meanwhile, Class A will be the first ones taking the test. A pair of students will leave every three minutes, go through the forest, grab their name tags, and bring ‘em back.”

“The class that makes the most people piss their pants with creativity and imagination wins!” Tiger shouted, uncharacteristically excited. He still looked as fierce as ever, not helped by the malevolent glint in his eyes which somehow shone through his domino mask.

“Right!” Pixie-Bob shouted, holding up a box. “You’ll be drawing lots to determine your pairs! Get to it!”

* * *

 

_ This is kinda awkward… _

Izuku and Momo stared blankly at each other, then simultaneously looked at the matching pieces of paper in their hands. On each sheet was written the kanji for  _ seven _ , indicating they would be the seventh team to go through the test.

“Uh… Hey, Momo. Funny how this worked out, right?”

“Hmph!”

_ Of course she’s still mad. _

“Ya know, I’m really sorry about yesterday. I wasn’t thinkin’ about how normal people’s lungs worked- I was just so happy to be spendin’ time with ya!” The blush that dusted across her nose encouraged him, and he pressed on eagerly. “I know we haven’t been on the best terms for a while, but I was hopin’ we could sorta… Do a reset? Let’s go back to how we were, that first week of school.”

Momo uncrossed her arms, smiling at him. However, she seemed a bit more amused than forgiving. “Midoriya-kun, I wasn’t really that mad at you.”

“...Wait, so what was this whole  _ hmph _ thing?”

“Ah, Tokage-san said I should  _ play hard to get _ , or something of the sort. She thought it would be funny to see you struggling for my forgiveness- it’s too bad she wasn’t here to watch. Despite my misgivings, I enjoyed your little display.

“I’m gonna murder that damned lizard.” Izuku rolled up his sleeves, turning on his heel to march into the trees.  
“Wait, Midoriya-kun!” Momo cried, latching onto his arm. “We can’t go in the forest yet; it’s not our turn!”

“Fuck that! I gotta… Is something burning?” Izuku asked, pausing in his rage-filled tirade to sniff the air. Spurred on by his comment, Pixie-Bob also lifted her nose to take a whiff.

“I  _ do _ smell smoke…” she muttered, glancing warily around. There were no fires in the immediate vicinity- they were using electric lanterns instead of a bonfire at the moment. Then, she saw it. The horizon was lit up an eerie blue, azure flames rising above the trees to lick at the sky. Pillars of ink-black smoke rose to the clouds, attempting to block out the moon. “Shit! Mandalay, use your Telepathy to contact the students! Tell them to return  _ immediately!” _

“Got it!” The brunette raised an oversized paw to her head, closing her eyes in concentration. Izuku noticed nothing, but apparently, Mandalay had done her job, because she nodded at Pixie-Bob. Then, upon looking around, the woman began to truly panic. “Wait, where’s Kota!?”

Izuku glanced around, quickly determining that the kid was actually not there. Despite their conversation last night, it seemed the kid hadn’t decided to stick around. Normally, Izuku would be understanding that these kinds of things took time without the catalyst of disaster, but right now, it was incredibly inconvenient, because that catalyst seemed to be moments away. He stepped towards the hysterical woman.

“Mandalay, I think I know where he is. If I take off these weights, I can probably get him and get back in five minutes.” He turned to look at Tiger, who nodded grimly. The man walked over, pulling a key out from the shorts he wore under his skirt. With a few deft twists, the weights fell to the ground, cracking the hardened dirt and forming craters. Izuku did a few stretches to get used to suddenly being light as a feather, turned on his heel, and took off into the forest.

* * *

 

“I tried searching for somewhere with a nice view, and ended up finding a face not on the list… By the way, you’ve got a nice hat, kid. Trade with me for this lame mask! They made me wear this toy since I’m new, talking about a late shipment or something…”

“You can trade with me,” Izuku interrupted, crouching at the edge of the cliff. In front of the cave, right where Izuku had expected him, was Kota. However, towering over him was a massive cloaked figure. Obviously, he was a male, from his deep voice and immense bulk. He was a giant, at least a head taller than the rather lanky Izuku, and more than three times his width. The man turned, revealing a white mask, riddled with holes, underneath the black hood.

“Oh?  _ You _ , on the other hand,  _ are _ on the list. Midoriya Izuku… You want this stupid thing? Take it,” the man grunted, yanking the mask off his face, chucking it at the teen. Unlike other Villains, who likely would have used the flying object as a distraction and followed closely behind it to launch a surprise attack, the man was content to let Izuku catch and examine it.

“Wow…” Izuku muttered, turning the synthetic plastic over in his hands. “This is pretty high-quality, actually.” He rapped a knuckle against the front, tilting his head at the satisfying reverberating noise it produced. “Yeah… What’s this thing made of?”

“Like I bothered asking. Sure, it’s nice, but I don’t really like this whole  _ cloak-n-dagger _ thing.”

“...We gonna ignore the fact that you’re wearing a cloak right now?”

“It’d be nice. Anyways, this is a trade; what’re you givin’ me?”

“Hm… Good question,” Izuku replied, fixing the mask to his face. “How about the ass-whoopin’ of a lifetime?”

“Funny. I was thinkin’ the same thing.”

* * *

 

Before Momo could even comprehend what was going on, Midoriya-kun was gone, blasting into the forest, leaving a crater in his wake. She yelped when a swirling dust cloud enveloped her, and by the time it vanished, she couldn’t even see a speck of his white hair in the dark treeline.

For a long while, there was an eerie silence, the Pussycats eyeing their surroundings, looking for any signs of the fire coming closer. Or, perhaps they were looking to see if the person who caused it was approaching- blue fire was not natural. It had to be the result of a Quirk. Were there Villains attacking? The thought sent shivers of fear down Momo’s spine, and she instead turned her attention to the students filing out of the forest.

Tokoyami, Shoji, Kyoka, and Toru were the first ones out. They were the only two pairs of Class A students sent into the forest before the fire had been noticed. Shoji had his Dupli-arms in the shape of eyes and ears, surveying the area. Tokoyami looked calm as ever, but the clenched fists at his sides suggested a mind in turmoil. Kyoka had her shoulders hunched, a grimace on her face, as if she expected to be attacked at any moment. Toru… Well, she was there, shown by her floating clothes. Trying to judge the expression of an invisible girl would not end work out very well.

Soon, the Class B students started entering the clearing. Many seemed confused, while others were tense. Tokage-san looked to be the former, and she walked up to Momo.

“Yaomomo! What’s going on? Mandalay said we all had to get back here real quick.”

“Somehow, a forest fire started,” Momo replied, pointing towards the blue flames off in the distance.

“Woah… Why’s it blue? Is that normal? It’s kinda pretty, though...”

“No, it’s not. It’s likely that the fire was caused by someone’s Quirk, so that is probably why the Pussycats are so panicked; they think we might be attacked soon. Honestly, I think they might be right.”

Tokage-san nodded, face screwing up with worry. “Where’s Izu-kun?”

“He went into the forest to find Kota-kun. The child that is always around Mandalay,” Momo explained, seeing the confusion on Tokage-san’s face.

“Wait, but didn’t Mandalay tell us all to come back as fast as we could?”

“Yes, but they allowed Midoriya-kun to go, since he was the only one who knows where Kota-kun is. Plus, he is much faster than the Pussycats once he has those weights off.” She gestured to the metal bracers in the ditches they’d created upon impact with the ground, and Tokage-san turned somewhat pale.

“I knew those things were heavy, but…”

“Indeed.”

“ _ Pixie-Bob!” _

Mandalay’s shout caught their attention, and the girls turned to see a muscled man with puffy lips and long, auburn hair standing over the blonde Hero. His weapon, a thick pole wrapped in white cloth, was resting on Pixie-Bob’s head, blood trickling out from the point of contact.

Behind him stood a reptile, who seemed to be male. He was covered in green scales, and the elongated snout of a lizard. His shock of purple hair was a stark contrast to his skin. He had two swords strapped to his back.

The two of them were grinning maliciously at the standing Pussycats. The big one shifted his staff when Tiger took a step forward, causing the man to pause and reconsider his actions. The threat was obvious;  _ come closer, and she dies _ . Tiger clenched his fists in impotent rage, claws jutting out of the paws.

“Hikiishi Kenji,” Tiger growled, walking towards the Villains at a deceivingly sedated pace, “Villain name; Magne. Nine counts of aggravated robbery, three murders, and twenty-nine attempted murders. What’s scum like you doing here!?”

“Oh,  _ my _ . Am I famous?” Magne asked, too amused to make good on his threat. He watched the menacing figure of Tiger through his tinted glasses, smirking wide enough to show the whites of his teeth.

“Tiger!” Mandalay called, pausing the man in his stride. “Something’s wrong! Ragdoll hasn’t responded to me- no text or anything!”

Magne’s chuckle drew the Pussycats’ attention back to him. “I wonder why that it is? You know, the forest is a pretty dangerous place at night; no telling when you could be…  _ Attacked. _ ”

Tiger roared in anger, launching himself at the Villains with a huge fist cocked back. His wild haymaker missed, Magne taking a step back and easily dodging, leaving Pixie-Bob to bleed on the dirt. Tiger’s swings, while quick and powerful, were incredibly sloppy. His rage blurred his vision, tinging the world red. Everything was drowned out, except for the equally-bulky form of Magne.

As a result, he didn’t notice when the lizard Villain drew a katana, and ran Tiger through from the side. Choking on his spit in shock, Tiger went down, clutching his bleeding flank, blood flowing around his gloves. He glared up at the scaly bastard, but stayed on the ground.

“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself, have I?” the lizard-man mused. “Sorry, that’s pretty rude!” He jabbed a thumb at himself, katana held loosely in the other hand. “I’m Spinner- the one who’ll spin Stain’s dreams into reality!” Spinner looked at the crowd of students, and noticed that some of them were getting a bit too twitchty for his liking. “Hey now- none of this heroic bullshit! All you kids stay right where you are, or the big man gets it!” To emphasize his point, Spinner’s katana came back up, pressed against TIger’s throat. The line of crimson that trickled down Tiger’s throat made the threat all too real, and any thought of fighting was wiped from the students’ minds. They didn’t want to be the cause of a Hero’s death, after all.

Magne took up vigil over Pixie-Bob once more, the bloody end of his staff resting casually on the dirt. “Man, where are those guys? They sure know how to keep a lady waiting,” Magne rumbled irately, examining his fingernails with a delicacy that was ruined by his facial hair.

“Aw, don’t worry so much, Mag-nee-chan!” Spinner said amiably, as if he wasn’t raring to kill the Pro Hero at the end of his sword. “I’m sure they’ll show up soon!”

“And we have,” a smooth voice replied, coming out of the forest. The crowd of teens swiveled to the noise, and watched as a number of new figures came out. The man who had spoken was dressed in a large burlap coat, a gaudy tophat with a feather sticking out of it, and carried a shiny cane, despite not using it to assist him in walking. He wore a white mask, covered in black lines that formed an intricate design in the facsimile of a disfigured face. His silky tone had a note of baritone.

The second man wore a full leather bodysuit, as if he were a BDSM freak. Thick, white lines ran over the black leather, and the top half of his mask was white along with his blank goggles.

Third was a short person, who could have passed as a child. They wore a gas mask with tubes running to an unsee tank on their back. A green, samurai-esque helmet rested atop their head. They wore what looked to be a black gakuran.

Up next was… Someone. Not much could be observed about this person, considering how the only part of their body that showed was their gaping, drooling mouth, pulled open by metal clamps. The rest of their body was covered in black leather, like their companion, but this was even more extreme. Like a straitjacket, their arms were pulled together to cross in front of their chest, held there by a cross of leather belts. Their legs were left separated so they could walk, but their gait was unsteady, as if they were drunk.

Finally came the only woman of the group- despite what Magne would probably say. She had blonde hair, pulled into twin buns at the back of her head. The lower half of her face was covered in what looked like a gas mask. A scarf hung around her neck, covered in painted teeth. Strapped to the back of her neck were six small cylinders, each with a tube connecting them to the larger tanks on her back. Wrapped around her waist and thighs were green pouches, filled with unknown objects. She wore a schoolgirl uniform, complete with the short skirt, and a red bow attached to her chest. There seemed to be a permanent blush on her face, and her eyes broadcasted unadulterated ecstasy.

The final person was the only member of the group to not wear a mask. In fact, his Villain costume didn’t seem like much of a costume at all. He wore black pants, black combat boots, and a white t-shirt. The only part of his ensemble that seemed even remotely unusual was the open, short-sleeved trench coat hanging down to his ankles. What really drew attention to this man was the condition of his skin. Nearly all of his exposed skin was blackened, charred beyond recognition, save for his fingertips, a small area around his eyes, and a slightly exposed part of his chest. His face was covered in stitches that created a border of sorts around the black and white skin, like a barrier that was preventing the horrific burns from spreading any further. Or, as if they were holding skin grafts to his skull, preventing his face from unraveling like a knot.

The first man, the one who had replied to Spinner, tossed a handful of marbles onto the ground. They burst into a cloud of white smoke, which dispersed soon enough, revealing a pile of people. Momo recognized Kirishima, Sato, Mina, Sero, Kaminari, and Todoroki- all the remedial class students. Another pile of marbles, another heap of humans; Aizawa-sensei, Vlad-sensei, Ectoplasm, Cementoss, Snipe, and Present Mic. Despite the rude deposit, none of the people woke up. They lay there, dead to the world, as if there was no crisis at the moment. It made sense, once the gakuran-wearing Villain stepped forward, and blasted them with a jet of gas from his palms. Aizawa-sensei, who had been twitching moments ago, slumped to the ground silently. Knockout Gas.

_ They must have fed it through the ventilation system of the building _ . Momo idly wondered if the teachers had even noticed before they dropped unconscious, but figured it was unlikely.

The heavily-burned man stepped forward, clapping his hands once to gain everybody’s attention, regardless of the fact that he had it once he’d started moving. “Okay, everyone. Let’s take it easy, alright? You kids can sit down, if you want. I  _ promise _ we won’t hurt you- if you resist, that’s a different matter entirely.. Leader-sama doesn’t like the idea of killing kids, so we were specifically told to leave you all alive, but that doesn’t exactly include intact, if you catch my drift. We are the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains, and we are here for one thing. Or rather, one  _ person _ ; where is Midoriya Izuku?”

* * *

 

_ Heh. So many kids- so many  _ toys. _ I wonder… Which one of them can scream the loudest? _

* * *

 

 


End file.
